Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA)

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 50,651 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 8,529% compared to the average daily volume of 587 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.05.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.65 on Wednesday. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.08. The company has a market capitalization of $985.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.50.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $101.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.40 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 17.51%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 169.41%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 16.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96,365 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $1,717,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $196,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 262,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 9,448 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.