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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.60.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MFA. JMP Securities lifted their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

MFA opened at $11.15 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.00 and its 200-day moving average is $11.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 2.16. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $10.20 and a twelve month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.56%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.05%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 448,989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 28,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,629,000 after purchasing an additional 21,331 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 902.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake 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 valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,005,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,985,000 after buying an additional 111,331 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.