Inspire Investing LLC Buys 7,220 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 7,220 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in MFA Financial by 12.7% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

MFA opened at $10.19 on Friday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.36 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.48. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.75%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities cut their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.80.

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.