Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 919,603 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 155,210 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.90% of MFA Financial worth $9,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,824,000 after buying an additional 502,840 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $104,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $135,000. EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 639.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $428,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.
MFA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of MFA traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,885,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,196. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.38. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.36 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 2.11.
MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 28.38% and a return on equity of 9.97%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
MFA Financial Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial's payout ratio is 88.05%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MFA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.70.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MFA
MFA Financial Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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