Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 250,535 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 250,535 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.88% of MFA Financial worth $11,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MFA. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in MFA Financial by 82.7% in 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 during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $10.93. The company had a trading volume of 549,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,780. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 2.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.55. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $10.20 and a one year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given 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 dividend yield of 12.81%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.60.

MFA Financial Company 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.