Motiv8 Investments LLC Purchases New Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 639.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFA opened at $10.54 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.31 and its 200-day moving average is $11.37. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 172.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MFA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has a consensus 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.