Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Boosts 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 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,769,362 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 112,835 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 2.72% of MFA Financial worth $31,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 520.2% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 1,734.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,219 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 4,636 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MFA traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $11.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 467,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 661,327. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.41 and a 52-week high of $11.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 2.10.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $169.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.75 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.24%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 350.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded MFA Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $11.25 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.