MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 77.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 82,039 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.18% of MFA Financial worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $189,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,835,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,346,000 after buying an additional 12,071 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in MFA Financial by 74.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities cut their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.70.

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MFA Financial Trading Down 2.6 %

MFA traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $10.29. 1,164,876 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,951. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.36 and a 1 year high of $13.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 2.18.

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

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.00%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 177.78%.

About MFA Financial

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.