Short Interest in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) Rises By 49.1%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 49.1% in March to 21,670,917 shares (about 3.0% of shares short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 2.0 based on average daily volume.
• Announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 (annualized $2.80) for a 12.5% yield
• Insiders have been selling (71,252 shares in the last 90 days, including sales by the CFO and COO), while large institutions — including Vanguard, UBS, Norges Bank and Goldman Sachs — materially increased holdings, with institutional ownership at 51.56%.

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 21,670,917 shares, an increase of 49.1% from the March 15th total of 14,532,723 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,838,195 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:NLY traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.41. 3,945,140 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,310,530. The company has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 1.23. Annaly Capital Management has a 12 month low of $17.39 and a 12 month high of $24.52. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $22.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.22.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NLY. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.78.

Insider Activity

In other Annaly Capital Management news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total value of $652,562.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 204,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,831.92. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at $162,477,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $108,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286,893 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,422,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,564 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth about $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,318,000 after buying an additional 2,607,784 shares during the period. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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