Northern Trust Corp Raises Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,006,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 97,945 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.99% of MFA Financial worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MFA. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 823.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $9.83 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.35.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.66%. This is a boost from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 146.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MFA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.50.

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.

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