Norges Bank Buys New Stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 349,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,564,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.34% of MFA Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MFA. Barclays PLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 902.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 3.3% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 60,261 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 74.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $428,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,629,000 after purchasing an additional 21,331 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JMP Securities reduced their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

MFA stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.62. 110,799 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,416. The stock has a market capitalization of $883.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.61. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.81.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.72%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 177.78%.

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.