Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 on April 30th

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 13th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a 7.7% increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65.

Annaly Capital Management has raised its dividend payment by an average of 43.5% annually over the last three years. Annaly Capital Management has a dividend payout ratio of 98.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Annaly Capital Management to earn $2.78 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 100.7%.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $20.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $22.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.06.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

About Annaly Capital Management

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.