Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 58,303 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 764,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 58,303 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.75% of MFA Financial worth $9,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 41,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 82.7% during 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 buying an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in MFA Financial by 17.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of 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 restated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised MFA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.60.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MFA traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.51. 1,070,423 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,083. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 2.16. The business's 50-day moving average price is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.52. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.48 and a 1 year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.16%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 241.38%.

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.