Brokerages Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) PT at $10.69

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.6875.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Quarry LP purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the third quarter worth about $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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in MFA Financial by 540.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in MFA Financial by 23.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $9.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $965.91 million, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.73. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $8.78 and a 1 year high of $10.56.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $43.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

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.