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

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 47,277 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 428% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,955 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NLY. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays began coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three 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, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NLY opened at $20.66 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management has a 52-week low of $17.67 and a 52-week high of $22.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.06. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

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

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.