Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Annaly Capital Management (NLY) from a "sell" to a "hold," while the broader analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $24.22.
• Annaly's latest quarter posted a slight EPS beat ($0.76 vs. $0.74) but a significant revenue miss ($341.6M vs. $595.3M), and the stock trades around $22.84 (1‑year range $18.43–$24.52).
• Insiders sold shares in February (CFO and COO), even as large institutions—Norges Bank, Vanguard, UBS and Goldman Sachs among them—substantially increased positions, leaving institutions with about 51.56% ownership.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on NLY. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JonesTrading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $22.84 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.37. The company has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 1.20. Annaly Capital Management has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $341.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.27 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 34.33%. On average, research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total value of $652,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 204,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,727,831.92. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NLY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at $162,477,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $108,623,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,024,564 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,784 shares during 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 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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