Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases New Shares in MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 370,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,589,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 16.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96,365 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 7.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 167,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 5.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA stock opened at $8.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $894.65 million, a P/E ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.42. MFA Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.77 and a fifty-two week high of $10.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.25 and a 200-day moving average of $9.59.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MFA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. William Blair set a $11.00 price target on MFA Financial in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.46.

About MFA Financial

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.