MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Price Target Raised to $11.00

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its price target increased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.81.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.10 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $11.08. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. MFA Financial had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 6.67%. The business had revenue of $88.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 215,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 109,916 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in MFA Financial by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 40,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 190.4% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 100,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 66,048 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 760,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,084,000 after purchasing an additional 152,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,523,000. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.