EMG Holdings L.P. Sells 239,345 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

EMG Holdings L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 52.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 218,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 239,345 shares during the quarter. MFA Financial comprises about 1.3% of EMG Holdings L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. EMG Holdings L.P.’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $2,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

MFA opened at $10.37 on Wednesday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 2.18.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. Equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.89%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

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.