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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.6875.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 62.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 540.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 23.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA stock opened at $9.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.89 and a 200-day moving average of $9.71. The company has a market cap of $946.40 million, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.47. MFA Financial has a one year low of $8.78 and a one year high of $10.56.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $43.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.52 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 165.52%.

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.