Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Annaly to a "sell", though the stock's consensus from other analysts remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $23.78 average price target and several firms maintaining Buy/Outperform views.
• Annaly beat the quarter with $0.74 EPS vs. $0.72 est. and revenue of $1.06B (versus $567.7M est.), and the stock trades around $22.12 with a $15.89B market cap, a P/E of 7.96, and a 52-week range of $16.59–$24.52.
• Corporate insiders (including the CFO and COO) sold shares recently—71,252 shares worth about $1.64M over three months—while large institutions like Vanguard and State Street materially increased holdings, leaving institutional ownership at ~51.56%.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on NLY. BTIG Research raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JonesTrading lifted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NLY stock opened at $22.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $22.27 and its 200 day moving average is $22.19. Annaly Capital Management has a 52-week low of $16.59 and a 52-week high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. Analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,005,094.34. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total transaction of $604,789.53. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 178,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,063,740. This trade represents a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,422,401,000 after buying an additional 3,024,564 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,425,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $608,994,000 after buying an additional 2,053,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,401,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $411,031,000 after buying an additional 1,503,559 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at $162,477,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,977,329 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $156,013,000 after buying an additional 1,751,509 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company's core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.

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