15,803 Shares in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Acquired by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $20.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.67 and a 1 year high of $22.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.05.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.91%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NLY. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays assumed 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 for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.