Cannell & Spears LLC Buys 40,900 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Cannell & Spears LLC increased its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 243.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,900 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned about 0.06% of MFA Financial worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MFA. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JMP Securities reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MFA stock opened at $10.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.36 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.12.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. On average, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.89%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 177.78%.

MFA Financial 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.