As we approach the halfway point for 2012, now's a good time to look back at what's happening with the stocks that interest you. By making sure you know the important things that a company accomplished -- as well as the setbacks it experienced -- you can make a better decision about whether it's a smart investment for your portfolio.
Today, let's take a look at Annaly Capital
Stats on Annaly Capital
2012 YTD Return | 11.0% |
Market Capitalization | $16.7 billion |
Net Income, Most Recent Quarter | $902 million |
Year-Over-Year Net Income Growth, Most Recent Quarter | 28.8% |
Change in Quarterly Dividend, Past 2 years | (19.1%) |
Forward Dividend Yield | 12.9% |
CAPS Rating | **** |
Source: S&P Capital IQ.
How has Annaly rewarded its shareholders?
Things have worked out very well for Annaly in terms of the macroeconomic environment. Continued economic weakness has led the Federal Reserve to reassure investors that it doesn't plan any interest rate hikes anytime soon, and although the continuation of Operation Twist is a potential threat to the company's interest margins, the impact thus far has been fairly minimal.
The longer-term concern is what will happen when interest rates turn. Already, declining margins have forced Annaly, American Capital Agency
The good news for Annaly, though, is that it sustained its $0.55 quarterly dividend for the second quarter in a row. That probably won't last forever, but it has undoubtedly helped support the stock so far this year. Annaly doesn't give you the biggest dividend yield of any mortgage REIT, but with $120 billion in assets on its balance sheet, it's clearly the bellwether of the group and should provide good signals for the health of the mortgage REIT sector generally.
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