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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.3125.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $9.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $990.79 million, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.60. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.50.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $101.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.40 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 17.51%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.41%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 16.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth $196,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 262,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 9,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 6.7% during the second quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 276,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 17,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.