MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Short Interest Down 17.5% in February

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 62.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in MFA Financial by 540.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in MFA Financial by 23.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFA traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $10.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,883,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,685. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.63. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.57.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 111.63%.

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.