Caxton Associates LP Cuts Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Caxton Associates LP cut its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 47.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 145,946 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 130,718 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $1,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,946,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,582,000 after purchasing an additional 163,555 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 9,211.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,371 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 6,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,769,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,210,000 after acquiring an additional 112,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 17,674 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 406,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,880. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.98. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $8.41 and a one year high of $11.90.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,749.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

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.