Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Call-option activity surged: Investors purchased 18,546 NLY call options, approximately 94% above the average daily volume of 9,555.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish: Annaly has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $23.61, despite some recent target and rating reductions.
• Shares declined slightly while the dividend remained attractive: NLY fell 0.1% to $18.27 and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 16.4%.

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 18,546 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 94% compared to the average daily volume of 9,555 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BTIG Research set a $21.00 price objective on Annaly Capital Management and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research lowered Annaly Capital Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.61.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,798,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,269,887. Annaly Capital Management has a 1-year low of $17.76 and a 1-year high of $24.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.00. The company has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.21.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.80 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 43.66% and a return on equity of 16.00%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.4%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.19%.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NLY. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 585.6% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 30.3% during the second quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 1st quarter worth about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Company Profile

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a real estate investment trust that invests in and manages a portfolio of mortgage-related assets. The company's primary business is focused on generating income from investments in agency mortgage-backed securities, which are guaranteed by a U.S. government-sponsored enterprise or government agency.

In addition to agency securities, Annaly invests in residential credit assets, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities and other residential loans.

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