Mortgage REIT MFA rallies as co revokes Q1 qtrly dividends
26/03/2020 12:25
** MFA Financial MFA.N jumps 55% to $1.77 premarket as co
revokes Q1 qtrly dividends on its common and preferred stocks
** Common stock dividend of $0.20, declared on Mar 11, was
to be paid on Apr 30 to all holders of record as of Mar 30; 7.5%
Series B preferred stock dividend was declared on Feb 14
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPnbtL1S7a
** Co says will continue to evaluate payment of dividends as
market conditions evolve
** On Tues, MFA's shares plunged 87% to 36 cents after co
joined several mortgage REIT peers warning they would not be
able to meet near-term margin calls due to market disruptions
created by the COVID-19 pandemic
** On Weds, MFA more than tripled as the sector rebounded
amid broader market gains on stimulus hopes urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2BI20L
** Other sector gainers premarket on Thurs: Invesco Mortgage
Capital Inc IVR.N and New York Mortgage Trust NYMT.O both up
~15%, while AG Mortgage Investment Trust MITT.N gaining ~25%
** AG Mortgage, which on Mon reported an "unusually high"
number of margin calls from financing counterparties, seeks
ruling to prevent Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO RY.N from
auctioning off mortgage debt urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2BI2FP
(Reporting by Lance Tupper)
((lance.tupper.tr.com@reuters.net
lance.tupper@tr.com 646-223-5017))