StockNews.com Downgrades MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) to Hold

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

MFA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MFA opened at $10.59 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.16. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,835,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,346,000 after purchasing an additional 12,071 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares during the period. 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.