MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MFA. JMP Securities lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.86 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.21.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 181,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,017,000 after purchasing an additional 68,846 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is 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.