Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Stock

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.25 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 8.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NLY. Jones Trading boosted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BTIG Research upgraded Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays set a $24.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.89.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NLY traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.15. 7,415,332 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,460,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.71. Annaly Capital Management has a 1 year low of $16.59 and a 1 year high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 16.49%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NLY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $130,626,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,623,000 after purchasing an additional 4,286,893 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,422,401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,024,564 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,234,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company’s core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.