MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in MFA Financial by 2.5%, owning approximately 981,697 shares, valued at $10.07 million as of the most recent filing.
• MFA Financial reported an EPS of $0.24 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.05, with net revenue of $61.28 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, representing a 13.8% yield, while its dividend payout ratio stands at 165.52%.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 981,697 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.96% of MFA Financial worth $10,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,182,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,470,000 after buying an additional 70,847 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in MFA Financial by 18.6% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 6,030,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $61,874,000 after buying an additional 944,608 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in MFA Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,017,000 after buying an additional 68,846 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,508,456 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,477,000 after buying an additional 285,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,085,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,139,000 after buying an additional 147,498 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA opened at $10.41 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.68. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.74.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The business had revenue of $61.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.8%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 165.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jones Trading restated a "hold" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price objective on MFA Financial and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.14.

About MFA Financial

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.

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