Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Short Interest Down 12.7% in February

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,540,000 shares, a decrease of 12.7% from the January 31st total of 16,650,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 7,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. 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 target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NLY stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.31. 6,090,952 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,551,847. The firm has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.90. Annaly Capital Management has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 41,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

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.