Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 99,987 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 88.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 99,987 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 12.7% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

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MFA Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.74. 832,911 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,952. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.56 and its 200-day moving average is $11.18.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). 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. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.40%. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $13.70.

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.