MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Holdings Decreased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 726,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 126,900 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.71% of MFA Financial worth $7,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $135,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MFA shares. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MFA opened at $10.59 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.36 and a 1 year high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.16.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. Research analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.60%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.