MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $9.36 and last traded at $9.55, with a volume of 1646784 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MFA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the second quarter worth $1,150,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 67,449 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 35.4% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,583,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197,220 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,629,000 after buying an additional 21,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.