Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Cut to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Annaly Capital Management has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for the stock, with most recent predictions ranging from $20.00 to $21.50.
• The company reported $0.73 earnings per share, slightly exceeding expected earnings, contributing to a moderate buy consensus rating among analysts.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 19th,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.50 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.72.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NLY stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.03. 2,155,796 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,678,520. Annaly Capital Management has a 52 week low of $16.59 and a 52 week high of $22.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $273.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.00 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.53%. As a group, research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 17,049 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 71,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 10,538 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc, a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities.