MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 531.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 794,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 668,618 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.78% of MFA Financial worth $8,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 6.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 448,989 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 28,382 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in MFA Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,852 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 7,220 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.60.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.98. 1,034,390 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 989,218. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.56.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

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.