Summit Securities Group LLC Sells 21,100 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Summit Securities Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 79.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 21,100 shares during the quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MFA stock opened at $10.59 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $13.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.15.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MFA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.