MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.6875.

MFA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $9.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.66 million, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.47. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $8.78 and a 52 week high of $10.56.

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

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.2%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,681,000 after acquiring an additional 977,820 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 1,653,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,390,000 after acquiring an additional 139,559 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 9.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,647,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,586,000 after acquiring an additional 139,156 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $12,366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,286,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,820,000 after acquiring an additional 80,900 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.