Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $687,000 Stock Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its MFA Financial stake by 73.7% in the first quarter, selling 200,710 shares and ending with 71,717 shares worth about $687,000.
• Wall Street sentiment on MFA Financial is mixed, with analysts currently giving the stock a Hold consensus and an average price target of $10.45.
• MFA Financial reported Q1 earnings of $0.30 per share, slightly below estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 15.3%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 73.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 200,710 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of MFA Financial worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 540.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 23.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MFA shares. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MFA Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.45.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFA opened at $9.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.48 and a 200-day moving average of $9.74. The stock has a market cap of $956.56 million, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.41. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.78 and a 52-week high of $10.56.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company's primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial's investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.

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