Inspire Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 82.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $128,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

MFA Financial Price Performance

NYSE:MFA opened at $13.01 on Monday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.88 and a 200 day moving average of $11.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of -162.63 and a beta of 2.16.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.76%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently -1,750.00%.

About MFA Financial

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.