Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Position Cut by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP reduced its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 56.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,135 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 181,284 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $20.15 to $20.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.10.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:NLY traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.73. 2,279,505 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,251,318. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.60 and a fifty-two week high of $22.11. The company has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.77.

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

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.20%. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 314.61%.

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.