DNB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Key Points

• DNB Asset Management AS increased its Annaly Capital Management stake by 165.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 336,067 shares worth about $7.5 million.
• Other major institutions also added to or initiated positions in NLY, including Vanguard and UBS AM, and roughly 51.56% of the stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Annaly reported Q1 earnings of $0.76 per share, beating estimates, while continuing to pay a $0.70 quarterly dividend that implies an annualized yield of about 13.0%.

DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 165.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 336,067 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 209,435 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS's holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NLY. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 4,286,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 3,024,564 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at $63,699,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 2,607,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,234,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NLY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JonesTrading reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $24.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NYSE:NLY opened at $21.57 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.20. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a fifty-two week low of $18.43 and a fifty-two week high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $341.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.27 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.33% and a return on equity of 15.92%. Research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.0%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Annaly Capital Management news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total transaction of $652,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 204,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,831.92. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

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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