MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.87, but opened at $9.47. MFA Financial shares last traded at $9.6550, with a volume of 243,181 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MFA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. BTIG Research raised shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.45.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $974.85 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.41.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 165.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in MFA Financial by 62.3% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 12,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 102,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.