MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.45.

MFA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.71. MFA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $8.78 and a fifty-two week high of $10.56. The company has a market cap of $932.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.41.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.The business had revenue of $43.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 62.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in MFA Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 540.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.