Piper Sandler Cuts Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) Price Target to $22.00

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $25.00 to $22.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NLY. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JonesTrading raised their price objective 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, January 29th. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NLY traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.02. 788,451 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,548,784. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.20. Annaly Capital Management has a 1-year low of $16.59 and a 1-year high of $24.52. The firm has a market cap of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 1.24.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.67 million. Analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Annaly Capital Management

In other Annaly Capital Management news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total transaction of $604,789.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 178,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,063,740. This represents a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Annaly Capital Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $162,477,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 4,286,893 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,422,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,564 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,699,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607,784 shares during the period. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.