Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Shares in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 62,136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $633,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of MFA Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,317,000 after purchasing an additional 60,261 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,484,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.70.

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MFA Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MFA traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.16. The company had a trading volume of 6,091,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,534. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.86 and a 12-month high of $13.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $10.34 and its 200 day moving average is $10.87. The stock has a market cap of $836.08 million, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.66%. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.