Barclays PLC Increases Stock Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 902.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.37% of MFA Financial worth $4,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,005,138 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $139,985,000 after buying an additional 111,331 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,583,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,220 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,835,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,346,000 after buying an additional 12,071 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,425,000 after buying an additional 250,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.39. 2,702,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,869. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.58. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.09 and a 52 week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.47%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is 88.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MFA. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

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.