MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.87, but opened at $9.47. MFA Financial shares last traded at $9.6550, with a volume of 243,181 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MFA has been the topic of several research 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 research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.45.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.5%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.75. The firm has a market cap of $988.06 million, a P/E ratio of 11.18 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.52 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 165.52%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 540.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.