MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Short Interest Update

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, a decline of 41.4% from the July 15th total of 2,490,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 696,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in MFA Financial by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,940,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411,692 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $860,000. Clayton Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,071,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 17,674 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.64. 658,638 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 720,710. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.95. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $11.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -145.00 and a beta of 2.15.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.03%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is -1,750.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush increased their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

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.