MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.4375.

MFA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $9.23 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.75. MFA Financial has a one year low of $8.78 and a one year high of $10.56. The company has a market capitalization of $937.22 million, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.43.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $43.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 440.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,345,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,366,000 after buying an additional 1,096,443 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,820,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,681,000 after buying an additional 977,820 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 152.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,022,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,669,000 after buying an additional 617,759 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 245.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 777,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,444,000 after buying an additional 551,927 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 112.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 778,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,150,000 after buying an additional 411,128 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is 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.