Norges Bank Invests $3.56 Million in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFAFree Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 349,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,564,000. Norges Bank owned 0.34% of MFA Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,824,000 after buying an additional 502,840 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in MFA Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,629,000 after purchasing an additional 21,331 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,317,000 after purchasing an additional 60,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.70.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MFA

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFA opened at $8.19 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.99 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The firm has a market cap of $839.16 million, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.39 and its 200-day moving average is $10.90.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFAGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

MFA Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA)

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