Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 3,130,320 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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 7.71% of MFA Financial worth $80,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,824,000 after buying an additional 502,840 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,564,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,484,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in MFA Financial by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 919,603 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,371,000 after acquiring an additional 155,210 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $8.44. 607,069 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,137. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $7.99 and a one year high of $13.45. The company has a market capitalization of $864.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.44 and a 200 day moving average of $10.93.

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MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) 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). The firm had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.07%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 177.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MFA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. 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, MFA Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.