Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $972.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.69. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.21%. This is a boost from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

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.