MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $6.38 and last traded at $6.4050, with a volume of 2,251,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.61.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of ($84.47) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.52 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 7.58%.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 5th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 22.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 144.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair set a $11.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.50 price target (down from $10.50) on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in MFA Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 125,117 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 11.1% in the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in MFA Financial by 12.8% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 16,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in MFA Financial by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 80,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 10,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Down 2.8%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.15. The stock has a market cap of $649.49 million, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 1.51.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc (NYSE: MFA) is a real estate investment trust and specialty finance company focused on residential mortgage assets. The company invests in a range of mortgage-related investments, including agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, residential whole loans, mortgage servicing rights and other assets associated with the U.S. housing finance market.

MFA Financial generally seeks to generate income from its investment portfolio through interest payments, servicing-related income and other returns associated with residential mortgage credit.