Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $128,000 Stock Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 88.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 99,987 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,484,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.87. 593,548 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,061. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $10.52 and a 200-day moving average of $11.20.

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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 the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.25%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MFA. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reduced their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MFA Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.