Citigroup Inc. Buys 1,096,443 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. $MFA

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 440.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,345,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,096,443 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 1.31% of MFA Financial worth $12,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 16.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,094,000 after purchasing an additional 96,365 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 2,352.2% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 27,615 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

MFA stock opened at $10.12 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $11.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.62.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The firm had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.56 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 6.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 111.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MFA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.56.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.