Company Analysis

MFA Financial Inc (MFAN)

NYSE: MFAN · Real Estate Investment Trusts · New York, NY · filing with the SEC since 1998
Grade5.2
◀ Past 4.1● Present 5.6▶ Future 5.7

The grade of MFA Financial Inc

Nine metrics read from its own filings, by tense
Headline grade
5.2/10
◀ Past4.125% of the headline
● Present5.645% of the headline
▶ Future5.730% of the headline

All three tenses have at least two readings, so the archetype blend applies as printed.

All nine metrics read as filed from the record.

◀ Past

What did they actually do?

4.1/1025% of the headline grade · 3 of 3 filed

Surviving crises

as filed
2.4/10

Has it survived what it has been through?

1 warning event since 2017; the latest 2020-03-26.

weight 45% of this tense · 24th percentile among 174 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's filings since 2017 show 1 warning event: a debt default or acceleration notice (8-K item 2.04, the latest 2020-03-26) (its current reports).

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Track record

as filed
3.6/10

What has it actually done, year after year?

+5.6% a year over 10 filed years; profitable in 8 of 10.

weight 33% of this tense · 36th percentile among 156 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's 10 filed years say what it did: revenue went from $457 million in fiscal 2016 to $745 million in fiscal 2025, up 5.6% a year; it rose in 6 of 9 years; the deepest fall was 48% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2021; net income was positive in 8 of 10 of those years (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue growth over the filed span5.6%bottom 45% of its family
  • the share of years revenue rosebottom 34% of its family
  • the share of filed years with a profitbottom 42% of its family
  • the deepest fall from a revenue peak47.9%bottom 21% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Shareholder treatment

as filed
8.1/10

How has it treated the people who own it?

Share count grew 0.3% a year. 100% of cash flow returned. Insiders: 0 sales, 0 purchases.

weight 22% of this tense · 81st percentile among 156 sector filers · read for its shareholders

From the record

Over the 3 fiscal years to 2025-12-31, MFA Financial Inc's diluted share count grew about 0.3% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 100% of its operating cash flow over 3 years (its filed statements). Its officers and directors filed 0 sales and 0 purchases of their own stock on the open market in the year to 2026-09-30 (their Form 4 filings).

What it rests on

  • the share count over the yearstop 28% of its family
  • cash returned against operating cash flowtop 9% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

● Present

What are they doing right now?

5.6/1045% of the headline grade · 3 of 3 filed

Financial health

as filed
5.6/10

Is it financially healthy right now?

ROE 7%: 7¢ of profit per shareholder dollar. Leverage 86%: owes 86¢ per asset dollar.

weight 45% of this tense · 56th percentile among 171 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

Return on equity: in the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, MFA Financial Inc earned about 7 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money. Leverage: it owed about 86 cents per dollar of assets, and net share issuance: its share count shrank 1.1% over the year (the filed statements).

What it rests on

  • what it owes per dollar of assetsbottom 16% of its family
  • return on equitytop 35% of its family
  • the share count against the year beforetop 13% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Industry position

as filed
6.5/10

How strong is its position in its industry?

top 35% of 157 in its family; net margin 18.2%.

weight 33% of this tense · 65th percentile among 157 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's standing among 157 graded names in its industry family: revenue of $745 million in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 45% by size; a net margin of 18.2% ranks in the top 44%; revenue growth of 15.6% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the top 15% (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue against the family$745Mtop 45% of its family
  • net margin18.2%top 44% of its family
  • three-year revenue growth15.6%top 15% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Leadership

as filed
4.3/10

What are the people in charge doing?

bottom 43% of 160 in its family for leadership; chief executive since 2017.

weight 22% of this tense · 43rd percentile among 160 sector filers · read for its shareholders

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's leadership, from its insiders' filings and its current reports: the chief executive on the record is Knutson, Craig L (CEO, as filed), filing under that title since 2017-10-03, 9.1 years (top 43% of its family); the 14 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 5.6 years (bottom 21%); 5 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-11-13, against the 14 people in charge now (top 50%; fewer changes for each person reads higher) (the Form 4 record, its Form 8-K reports). Years count from a person's first filing in the SEC's data sets, which begin in 2006, so each is a floor.

What it rests on

  • officer and director changes on Form 8-K, against the people in charge5 in three years among 14 peopletop 50% of its family
  • the median years the people in charge have filed5.6 yearsbottom 21% of its family
  • the chief executive's years on the record9.1 yearstop 43% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

▶ Future

What are they set up to do next?

5.7/1030% of the headline grade · 3 of 3 filed

Room to expand

as filed
5.0/10

How much room does it have to grow?

bottom 49% of 146 in its family for room to expand.

weight 22% of this tense · 49th percentile among 146 sector filers · read for itself

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's room to grow, from the newest filed statements (fiscal 2025): cash of $213 million against no long-term debt tagged leaves 1.6% of its assets as net cash, top 22% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 10.2% of revenue (bottom 21%) (its annual report).

What it rests on

  • cash less debt against assets1.6%top 22% of its family
  • cash from operations less capital spending against revenue10.2%bottom 21% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Growth drivers

as filed
5.0/10

What could actually drive growth from here?

bottom 50% of 153 in its family for growth drivers.

weight 33% of this tense · 50th percentile among 153 sector filers · read for its customers

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's growth drivers, from the filed years to fiscal 2025: revenue grew 15.6% a year over the last three filed years against 5.6% over all 10, speeding up (top 9% of its family); the newest year grew 2.9% (bottom 49%); capital spending grew -45.7% a year (bottom 9%) (its annual reports). MFA Financial Inc tags no split of its revenue by line in the annual report on file, so growth by line cannot be read here; research and capital spending are on the trend.

What it rests on

  • three-year growth against the whole span+10.0 points a yeartop 9% of its family
  • the newest year's revenue growth2.9%bottom 49% of its family
  • three-year growth of capital spending-45.7%bottom 9% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

Expectations vs reality

as filed
6.5/10

Did its newest year beat what its own record pointed to?

top 35% of 150 in its family for expectations against reality.

weight 45% of this tense · 65th percentile among 150 sector filers · read for its shareholders

From the record

MFA Financial Inc's newest year against its own record: revenue of $745 million in fiscal 2025 came in 16% below the $887 million its prior three years' pace pointed to (bottom 12% of its family); net income of $136 million against a prior three-year average of $44 million (top 8%); a net margin of 18.2% against -11.8% before (top 9%) (its annual reports).

What it rests on

  • revenue against the prior three years' pace-16.0%bottom 12% of its family
  • net income against the prior three years' average+409%top 8% of its family
  • net margin against its prior average+30.0 pointstop 9% of its family

A production reading, recomputed from the filings on every data build, read from EDGAR Nov 13, 2026.

The grade is the company against its own industry, from its filings. It is not a view on the share price. How the grade is made

SI Assistanton MFAN · research, not advice