Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.70 Per Share

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a 7.7% increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65.

Annaly Capital Management has raised its dividend by an average of 43.5% annually over the last three years. Annaly Capital Management has a dividend payout ratio of 91.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Annaly Capital Management to earn $2.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 93.5%.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NYSE:NLY traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,237,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,628,646. The company has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $22.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.31 and its 200-day moving average is $19.94.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NLY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.