UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $2 Million Stock Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.15% of MFA Financial worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 8.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 496,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,286,000 after buying an additional 40,782 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 116.7% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 822,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,753,000 after purchasing an additional 123,790 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 647,677 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,891,000 after purchasing an additional 9,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 1.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 171,755 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities upped their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded up $0.06 on Monday, hitting $10.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,064,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,383. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 2.11. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.59. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.20 and a twelve month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.87%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 88.05%.

About MFA Financial

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.