MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,874,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,130,320 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 7.71% of MFA Financial worth $80,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,835,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,346,000 after acquiring an additional 12,071 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 67,449 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% during 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 period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Trading Down 5.4 %

MFA stock opened at $9.59 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $982.69 million, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. On average, equities research 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 declared 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 an increase 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 15.02%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

MFA Financial 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.