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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.3125.

MFA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in MFA Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 40.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in MFA Financial by 58.6% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $9.67 on Friday. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $988.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.56.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.9%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.41%.

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.