Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 164,900 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 60.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 164,900 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.11% of MFA Financial worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,824,000 after buying an additional 502,840 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,317,000 after acquiring an additional 60,261 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $18,325,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,017,000 after acquiring an additional 68,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,223,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,464,000 after acquiring an additional 177,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MFA traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,104. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $963.40 million, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 146.94%.

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.