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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.8125.

MFA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $10.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.57. MFA Financial has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $11.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm 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 business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.3%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 111.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the third quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 540.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 58.6% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. 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.