Motiv8 Investments LLC Purchases 2,290 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Motiv8 Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares during the quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 59,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 target price on MFA Financial and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.92.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:MFA opened at $9.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $974.15 million, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.66. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $13.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day moving average of $10.01.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.94%.

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.