Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 6.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 448,989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 28,382 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $5,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Square LLC lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 41,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 5.7% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in MFA Financial by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 52,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MFA. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JMP Securities increased 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 report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $10.41 on Tuesday. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.09 and a 1 year high of $13.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.43 and its 200-day moving average is $11.58. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 2.12.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid 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 yield of 13.45%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

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.