MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Short Interest Up 30.5% in March

17 Apr 2026, 19:48 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,348,824 shares, an increase of 30.5% from the March 15th total of 2,565,417 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,670,579 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MFA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.81.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MFA

MFA Financial Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of MFA stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.23. 1,504,126 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,441,747. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $8.65 and a 12 month high of $10.56. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. MFA Financial had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The company had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.56 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.1%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,820,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,681,000 after purchasing an additional 977,820 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,653,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,390,000 after purchasing an additional 139,559 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 9.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,647,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,586,000 after buying an additional 139,156 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 440.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,345,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,366,000 after buying an additional 1,096,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,286,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,820,000 after buying an additional 80,900 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.