Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 311,122 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 311,122 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.25% of MFA Financial worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 93,754 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,556 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 186.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 10,059 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in MFA Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 59,597 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. Natixis bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 531.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 794,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,095,000 after acquiring an additional 668,618 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JMP Securities cut their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.60.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MFA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.47. 849,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 993,731. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.51. The company has a market cap of $971.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.69. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.21%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

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.