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

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.40.

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

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

MFA stock opened at $12.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 2.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.50. MFA Financial has a 12-month low of $9.42 and a 12-month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.49%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 241.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Capital Square LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 41,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 82.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 8.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 17.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.