Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $61.87 Million Stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,030,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 944,608 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 5.88% of MFA Financial worth $61,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $19,317,000 after acquiring an additional 60,261 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 124,317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 29,584 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in MFA Financial by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 84,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 28,348 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $12,464,000 after purchasing an additional 177,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,006,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,260,000 after buying an additional 97,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on 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 shares of MFA Financial and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.92.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.9%

MFA Financial stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.49. The company had a trading volume of 765,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,522. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.40 and a 200-day moving average of $10.07. The firm has a market cap of $973.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.66. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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 Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is 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.