MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Purchases 68,846 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 68,846 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned approximately 1.54% of MFA Financial worth $16,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,824,000 after purchasing an additional 502,840 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 3.3% in 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 last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,325,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 16.9% in the fourth 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 97,945 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MFA traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 253,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,022,670. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.33. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $990.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business 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 firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.93%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's payout ratio is 146.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MFA shares. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.50.

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.