Choreo LLC Takes $135,000 Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,583,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,220 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 902.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 38.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 250,535 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,509,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,700,000 after buying an additional 151,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

MFA Financial stock opened at $10.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.40. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.36 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.14%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MFA. JMP Securities cut their price target 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. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.80.

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.