MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Separately, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.32. 1,165,384 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 699,147. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.98. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $8.41 and a 52-week high of $11.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -141.48 and a beta of 2.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,946,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,582,000 after buying an additional 163,555 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411,692 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Partners LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,071,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 17,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in MFA Financial by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 42,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 8,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.