Ieq Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 172,953 MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 172,953 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MFA. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 53.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,820,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,681,000 after acquiring an additional 977,820 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MFA Financial by 152.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,022,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,669,000 after purchasing an additional 617,759 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 245.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 777,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,444,000 after purchasing an additional 551,927 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 112.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 778,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,150,000 after purchasing an additional 411,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 718,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,693,000 after purchasing an additional 308,491 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. William Blair set a $11.00 target price on MFA Financial in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.46.

MFA Financial Stock Down 1.1%

MFA stock opened at $8.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.29 and a 200 day moving average of $9.61. The firm has a market cap of $894.14 million, a PE ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.42. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.80 and a twelve month high of $10.56.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 144.00%.

MFA Financial Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.