Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 5,173 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,173 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of MFA Financial worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE MFA opened at $10.37 on Wednesday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.36 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.59 and its 200 day moving average is $11.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 2.18.

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

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.