Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 620,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 224,825 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.61% of MFA Financial worth $6,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MFA. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $110,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $121,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

MFA stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.38. 124,942 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 968,682. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.06 and its 200 day moving average is $10.68. The firm has a market cap of $962.37 million, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. As a group, analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.36%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MFA. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities cut their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently 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.