Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 19,257 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,111,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 19,257 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.91% of MFA Financial worth $103,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 16.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in MFA Financial by 183.0% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 31,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in MFA Financial by 77.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 188,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after buying an additional 82,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 96.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 49,407 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Trading Up 7.7 %

NYSE MFA opened at $9.22 on Thursday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.99 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $945.27 million, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.93.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.62%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed 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. JMP Securities reduced their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

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.