MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. One equities research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $10.74 on Friday. MFA Financial has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 2.18.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in MFA Financial by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its position in MFA Financial by 12.7% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. 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.