Almitas Capital LLC Invests $789,000 in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 77,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 823.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.61. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.98 and a 200-day moving average of $10.58.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.60.

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.