Annaly Capital Management Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 47,277 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 428% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,955 call options.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 2.1 %

Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $20.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.06. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11. The stock has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is 176.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NLY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.44.

Institutional Trading of Annaly Capital Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,265,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,157,000 after acquiring an additional 728,307 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 980,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,946,000 after purchasing an additional 153,940 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 7,428 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,570 shares in the last quarter. 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.