Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Stock Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in MFA Financial, raising its position by 17.8% and now owns about 0.81% of the company, valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• MFA Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 15.18%, although the company's payout ratio is high at 146.94%.
• A variety of brokerages have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets for MFA Financial, with an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.07.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 830,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 125,328 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.81% of MFA Financial worth $8,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 823.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Jones Trading raised shares of MFA Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.07.

MFA Financial Stock Down 2.6%

MFA Financial stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,638. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $13.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.85. The stock has a market cap of $948.49 million, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.58%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 146.94%.

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.