The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,462 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 823.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $104,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.50.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA opened at $9.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.39. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.66%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 146.94%.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.