Why Annaly Capital Management and Other Mortgage REITs Fell 38% or More in March

Shares of mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) dropped roughly 43% in March, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Peer AGNC Investment Corp (NASDAQ: AGNC) declined a little less, down around 38%, while MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA) saw its shares plummet over 78%. It wasn't a good month for these REITs.

To see just how bad March was for these mortgage-focused REITs, compare their performance to the 13% drop in the S&P 500 Index -- or even to other REITs, as measured by the Vanguard Real Estate ETF, which were "only" down around 20%, on average. It was a brutal month throughout Wall Street, but mortgage REITs definitely got hit harder than most other market niches.

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Source Fool.com