Van ECK Associates Corp Has $9.26 Million Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 764,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 58,303 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.75% of MFA Financial worth $9,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 41,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in MFA Financial by 82.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in MFA Financial by 17.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 5.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.40.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $11.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.47 and its 200 day moving average is $11.52. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $9.44 and a one year high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 2.16.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 241.38%.

About MFA Financial

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.