Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,699 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.19% of MFA Financial worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MFA opened at $10.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.36 and a twelve month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. Research analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.60%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities lowered 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.70.

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.