Nuveen LLC Invests $3.18 Million in MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 310,274 shares of MFA Financial, valued at approximately $3,183,000, representing around 0.30% of the company.
• MFA Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, yielding approximately 14.3%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 165.52%.
• After recent earnings, analysts have reduced MFA's price targets, with the consensus price currently at $12.07, and the company reporting earnings per share of $0.24, missing estimates by $0.05.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 310,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,183,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.30% of MFA Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $131,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $140,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 692,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,344. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $13.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.68.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $61.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

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.