Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 402.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Barclays started 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 restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $21.85 on Tuesday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.67 and a 52-week high of $22.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.48 and its 200 day moving average is $19.97.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.82%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is 163.52%.

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.