Amalgamated Bank Grows Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 265,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,954 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $4,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,043,000 after buying an additional 132,891 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,780,000 after acquiring an additional 48,555 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after acquiring an additional 120,163 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $21.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $22.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.85.

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

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 163.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. 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. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus 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.