MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Shares Purchased by EMC Capital Management

EMC Capital Management lifted its position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MFA Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,946,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,582,000 after acquiring an additional 163,555 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in MFA Financial by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411,692 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter valued at about $860,000. Clayton Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $1,071,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in MFA Financial by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MFA traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.82. 767,110 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,751. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.98. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $8.41 and a one year high of $11.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -133.61 and a beta of 2.15.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently -1,749.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.00.

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.