Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Acquires New Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,798,284 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $18,325,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 1.76% of MFA Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 10.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 4.1% in the fourth 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. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 13,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:MFA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.64. The stock had a trading volume of 522,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,573. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.42. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $989.57 million, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.94%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 146.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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, May 8th. 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 lowered shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.50.

About MFA Financial

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.