MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 1-Year High at $11.90

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $11.90 and last traded at $11.90, with a volume of 43967 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $12.50 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -147.61 and a beta of 2.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.96.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.83%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently -1,749.78%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411,692 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $860,000. Clayton Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,071,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 42,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 8,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

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.