MFA Financial, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:MFA)

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

MFA Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 8.4% per year over the last three years. MFA Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 85.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect MFA Financial to earn $1.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 96.6%.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

MFA traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $10.80. 812,944 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,875. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.12. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $10.20 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MFA. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.