QRG Capital Management Inc. Invests $343,000 in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,484,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MFA Financial by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 479,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,888,000 after buying an additional 72,867 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $407,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $10.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.33 and a 200 day moving average of $11.32. MFA Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.36 and a fifty-two week high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 2.18.

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

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.54%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 172.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MFA shares. JMP Securities lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Company 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.