Quarry LP Buys New Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MFA. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 823.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MFA opened at $9.98 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.55.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.43%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 177.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MFA. JMP Securities cut their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.60.

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.