EMG Holdings L.P. Sells 81,000 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

EMG Holdings L.P. lessened its holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 638,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 81,000 shares during the quarter. MFA Financial accounts for approximately 1.5% of EMG Holdings L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. EMG Holdings L.P. owned approximately 0.63% of MFA Financial worth $6,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in MFA Financial by 62.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 540.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted 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 valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA opened at $9.18 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $8.78 and a one year high of $10.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $932.69 million, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.41.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.The company had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.7%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MFA shares. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.45.

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.