Analysts Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) PT at $10.31

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.3125.

Several analysts have recently commented on MFA shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the third quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 62.3% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MFA Financial by 40.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA stock opened at $10.09 on Monday. MFA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.51.

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

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 169.41%.

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.