MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Now Covered by Analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $14.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.10 and its 200-day moving average is $11.56. MFA Financial has a one year low of $9.88 and a one year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in MFA Financial by 8.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 496,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 40,782 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 647,677 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,891,000 after acquiring an additional 9,735 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in MFA Financial by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 171,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in MFA Financial by 17.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 14,898 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in MFA Financial by 5.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.