MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.45.

A number of analysts have issued reports on MFA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

MFA Financial Stock Down 0.1%

MFA Financial stock opened at $9.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.75. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $8.78 and a twelve month high of $10.56. The company has a market capitalization of $962.66 million, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.41.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 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 company had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.2%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 165.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 53.1% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 977,820 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,647,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,586,000 after purchasing an additional 139,156 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 6.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 80,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,145,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,669,000 after purchasing an additional 207,067 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.