Caxton Associates LLP Makes New Investment in MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired 167,318 shares of MFA Financial, Inc., valued at approximately $1.7 million, representing 0.16% ownership in the real estate investment trust.
• Other institutional investors such as Vaughan Nelson Investment Management and EMG Holdings have also increased their stakes in MFA Financial significantly during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest.
• MFA Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36, translating to an annual yield of 13.9%, despite a payout ratio exceeding 165%.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 167,318 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,717,000. Caxton Associates LLP owned approximately 0.16% of MFA Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $131,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $144,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFA traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.11. The stock had a trading volume of 833,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,415. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.73. 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 $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.68.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 17.62%.The firm had revenue of $61.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MFA. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price objective on MFA Financial and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.14.

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.