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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.45.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BTIG Research upgraded MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 grew 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 valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.1%

MFA Financial stock opened at $9.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $932.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.41 and its 200 day moving average is $9.71. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $8.78 and a 52-week high of $10.56.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.