Brokerages Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Price Target at $12.50

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.50.

MFA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA stock opened at $12.07 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -150.79 and a beta of 2.15. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $12.13.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently -1,749.78%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% in 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 buying an additional 5,411,692 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in MFA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $860,000. Clayton Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,071,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in MFA Financial by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 42,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 8,651 shares during the last quarter. 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.