MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.80 and traded as high as $10.25. MFA Financial shares last traded at $10.1180, with a volume of 1,276,309 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.56.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.80 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.59.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. MFA Financial had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The firm had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.2%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 111.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 16.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,094,000 after buying an additional 96,365 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 2,352.2% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 28,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 27,615 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the second quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the second quarter worth about $9,091,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.