MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Increases Dividend to $0.44 Per Share

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 15th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, July 29th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 29th. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

MFA Financial has decreased its dividend by an average of 21.6% annually over the last three years. MFA Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 23.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect MFA Financial to earn $2.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.8%.

NYSE MFA opened at $10.93 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 1.62. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $10.64 and a twelve month high of $19.52.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($1.25). MFA Financial had a net margin of 41.39% and a return on equity of 10.55%. The company had revenue of $63.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com began coverage on MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

In other MFA Financial news, VP Mei Lin sold 4,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.48, for a total value of $54,688.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,775 shares in the company, valued at $37,407. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $188,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 174.0% during the fourth quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 50,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 31,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.5% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 74,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,558 shares in the last quarter.

About MFA Financial (Get Rating)

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company invests in residential mortgage assets, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), 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.

Featured Stories