MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,191,825 shares, a decrease of 17.5% from the February 12th total of 2,656,748 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,374,427 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,374,427 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 540.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $9.95. 1,150,014 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,427,993. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.57. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.08.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The firm had revenue of $88.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.56 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 6.67%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.5%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings raised MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.81.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.