Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $407,000 in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 39,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $110,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 639.9% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MFA traded up $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $10.73. The stock had a trading volume of 836,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,296. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.36 and a 1-year high of $13.45.

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

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.43%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 172.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MFA. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial 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.