Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Annaly Capital Management, buying 7.27 million shares worth about $162.5 million. The position represented 1.06% of the mortgage REIT at the end of the reporting period.
• Institutional interest in NLY remains significant, with hedge funds and other investors making notable adjustments to their holdings. The article says institutions and hedge funds now own 51.56% of the company.
• Analysts currently view Annaly Capital Management in a generally positive light, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $24.22. The stock was trading at $21.16, and the company also pays a high dividend yield of about 13.2%.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,266,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $162,477,000. Norges Bank owned 1.06% of Annaly Capital Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 111.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,154,000 after purchasing an additional 29,978 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,874 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,003,000 after acquiring an additional 80,481 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NLY shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Annaly Capital Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $21.16 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.91 and its 200-day moving average is $22.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.17. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $341.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.27 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 34.33%. Analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.2%. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 94.59%.

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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