Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 938,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 39,969 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.92% of MFA Financial worth $9,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in 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 valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in MFA Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised MFA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $13.70.

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MFA Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MFA traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.83. 1,055,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,061. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.36 and a 12-month high of $13.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.20.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. On average, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.30%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 177.78%.

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.