MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Shares Pass Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.80 and traded as high as $10.25. MFA Financial shares last traded at $10.1180, with a volume of 1,276,309 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.56.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.1%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.59.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 23.73%.The company had revenue of $88.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in MFA Financial by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 22,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 23.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in MFA Financial by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

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.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.