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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.8125.

Several brokerages have commented on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 96,365 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,489,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,555,000 after buying an additional 54,944 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in MFA Financial by 6.7% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 22,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $147,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA stock opened at $9.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $965.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.61. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $10.76.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.56 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 111.63%.

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.