MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s share 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. Finally, BTIG Research raised MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.45.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $988.06 million, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.63 and its 200 day moving average is $9.75.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its earnings results 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). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.The business had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.8%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 16.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96,365 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 7.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 167,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 5.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in MFA Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $716,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

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.