MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Shares Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 50.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 28,348 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.08% of MFA Financial worth $861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFA. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 823.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.50.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.34 on Tuesday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $958.27 million, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.24.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.43%. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 146.94%.

MFA Financial 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.