Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Price Target to $10.00

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MFA. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.69.

MFA Financial Trading Up 1.6%

MFA stock opened at $9.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.47. MFA Financial has a 12-month low of $8.78 and a 12-month high of $10.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.70.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $43.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.52 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.5%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 165.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 440.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,345,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,443 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 53.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,820,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,681,000 after purchasing an additional 977,820 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 152.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,022,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,669,000 after purchasing an additional 617,759 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 57.5% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,513,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,909,000 after purchasing an additional 552,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 112.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 778,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,150,000 after purchasing an additional 411,128 shares in the last quarter. 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.