Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 349,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,564,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.34% of MFA Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 72,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 232,815 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 33,578 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 183.0% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 31,067 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in MFA Financial by 77.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 188,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 82,039 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently commented on MFA shares. 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 for the company. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.70.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MFA
MFA Financial Price Performance
Shares of MFA traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.68. 1,463,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 951,263. The stock has a market capitalization of $889.91 million, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $10.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.83. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $13.45.
MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.06 million. Equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.
MFA Financial Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed 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 16.59%. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.78%.
About MFA Financial
(
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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