Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 62,400 Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its Annaly Capital Management stake by 35.5% in the first quarter, buying 62,400 more shares and lifting its holdings to 238,051 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 51.56% of Annaly’s stock; several large investors, including Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and Norges Bank, also recently changed positions.
• Analysts are broadly constructive on NLY, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $24.44, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 per share, implying a 13.3% annualized yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 62,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $5,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in 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 worth $108,623,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,422,401,000 after buying an additional 3,024,564 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,607,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Annaly Capital Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $24.50 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research set a $24.00 price target on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.44.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $22.55 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.46. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 1-year low of $19.24 and a 1-year high of $24.52. The company has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.16.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.33% and a return on equity of 15.92%. The company had revenue of $341.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.27 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.35%.

Annaly Capital Management 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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