First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 75,540 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NLY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 41,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,815,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,193,243. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.60 and a fifty-two week high of $22.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.76. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.25.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $186.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $418.04 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.55%. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is currently 314.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.15 to $20.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.10.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

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.