Fox Run Management L.L.C. Grows Stock Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 183.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,090 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 77.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 188,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after buying an additional 82,039 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 49,407 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 938,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,560,000 after buying an additional 39,969 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MFA opened at $10.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.18.

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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.