Annaly Capital Management Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 29,597 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 253% compared to the average daily volume of 8,386 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $951,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 662,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,606,785.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Selway Asset Management acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 222.2% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1,834.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Annaly Capital Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Jonestrading boosted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $17.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.07.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE NLY traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $19.74. 4,823,073 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,746,389. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.25 and a 200 day moving average of $18.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.47 and a beta of 1.54. Annaly Capital Management has a twelve month low of $14.52 and a twelve month high of $21.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is -72.02%.

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.