MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.40.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MFA. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com upgraded MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $12.72 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -159.00 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $12.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.37.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.01%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,750.00%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,940,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411,692 shares during the period. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,150,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $860,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in MFA Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Institutional investors 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.