MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MFA. JMP Securities dropped their price target on 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. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $10.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.15. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. Equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.60%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 177.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 15.2% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 68,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

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.