12 Ultra-High Dividend Stocks to Buy for Income Investors

7. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Dividend Yield as of June 21: 12.83%

On June 17, BTIG lowered its price recommendation on Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) to $24 from $25. It reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The firm expects agency mortgage real estate investment trusts to generate an economic return of about 13% in 2026. According to BTIG, dividends should offset some modest declines in book value. The analyst also noted that the long-term outlook for the sector remains favorable, as spreads continue to be attractive compared with historical levels. That environment is expected to support both book values and dividend prospects.

During the company’s first-quarter 2026 earnings call, Chief Executive Officer David Finkelstein said Annaly delivered an economic return of 1.5%. He attributed the result to the resilience and diversification of the company’s housing finance platform despite a volatile market backdrop.

Finkelstein reported earnings available for distribution of $0.76 per share during the quarter. He also said the company raised approximately $510 million in common equity through its at-the-market program. Most of that capital was directed toward Residential Credit and mortgage servicing rights (MSR). As a result, the share of capital invested in those businesses increased from 38% to 44% by the end of the quarter.

Discussing the Agency portfolio, Finkelstein said it had a market value of $92 billion at quarter-end and represented 56% of the firm’s capital. He added that the company repositioned the portfolio by reducing exposure to higher-coupon 6% securities and increasing its allocation to 4.5% to-be-announced (TBA) securities. Finkelstein also highlighted activity in the company’s loan business. During the quarter, Annaly acquired $6.7 billion in whole loans and generated lock volume of $7.4 billion. That marked a 16% increase from the previous quarter and a 41% increase from the same period last year.

He further noted that the OBX platform completed eight securitizations totaling $4.7 billion during the quarter. After quarter-end, the platform priced four more securitizations, bringing the year-to-date total to 12 transactions with a combined value of $6.6 billion.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) is a diversified capital manager with investment strategies focused on mortgage finance.