Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY)

Key Points

• Annaly Capital Management saw a significant increase in activity with investors purchasing 48,657 call options, marking a 269% rise compared to its average volume.
• The company's shares have been trading at approximately $20.97, with a market capitalization of $13.46 billion and recent quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share.
• Annaly Capital Management announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70, representing an annualized yield of 13.4%, set to be paid on October 31.

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 48,657 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 269% compared to the average volume of 13,180 call options.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NLY stock traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $20.97. 3,024,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,753,714. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.24. Annaly Capital Management has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $22.45.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $273.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $237.00 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.53%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 277.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.50 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jones Trading reissued a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.81.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,042,238 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,073,000 after purchasing an additional 163,155 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,524,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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