Short Interest in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) Decreases By 19.7%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 19.7% in April to 17,410,192 shares (about 2.4% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 3.1 days based on average daily volume.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: the COO sold 28,225 shares and the CFO 16,536 on Feb. 18, and insiders sold 71,252 shares over the last 90 days, leaving insiders owning 0.22% of the stock.
• Annaly declared a quarterly $0.70 dividend (annualized $2.80) representing a 12.2% yield and a 94.59% payout ratio, while analysts' consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 17,410,192 shares, a drop of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 21,670,917 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,565,809 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NLY. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research raised Annaly Capital Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on Annaly Capital Management and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Annaly Capital Management

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total value of $652,562.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 204,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,831.92. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total value of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,513 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.8% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 27,309 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 41.6% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 10,811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NLY traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.92. 7,186,192 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,222,570. Annaly Capital Management has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $24.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.37.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.33% and a return on equity of 15.92%. The firm had revenue of $341.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.27 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.2%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.59%.

About Annaly Capital Management

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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