Annaly Capital Management Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NLY)

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 79,564 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,111% compared to the average volume of 6,571 call options.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:NLY traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.96. The stock had a trading volume of 4,961,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,107,593. Annaly Capital Management has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.03. The stock has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.82.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced 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 net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.84%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 163.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,721,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,001,407,000 after buying an additional 5,859,104 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,426,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $630,007,000 after acquiring an additional 8,272,674 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,099,719 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,665,000 after buying an additional 109,655 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,400,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $360,296,000 after purchasing an additional 223,294 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,453,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,706,000 after acquiring an additional 814,917 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price for 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 objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.