Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,091 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,037 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.18% of MFA Financial worth $2,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MFA. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411,692 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,910,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,180,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,289,000 after buying an additional 411,205 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 822,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,753,000 after acquiring an additional 123,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,071,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Down 2.6 %

MFA stock opened at $12.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.03 and a 200-day moving average of $11.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -154.81 and a beta of 2.16. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.41 and a 12 month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.30%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,750.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MFA. StockNews.com raised MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush upped their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.40.

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.