MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives $10.56 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.8125.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 62.3% in 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings 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 valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in MFA Financial by 540.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.10 on Tuesday. MFA Financial has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $11.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.57.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.63%.

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.