Delphi Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Delphi Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. MFA Financial comprises 0.5% of Delphi Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Delphi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 82.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter worth about $79,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MFA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.58. The stock had a trading volume of 120,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,115. MFA Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.48 and a fifty-two week high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 2.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.52.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.09%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 241.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MFA shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.60.

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.