MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Shares Gap Down to $10.87

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.87, but opened at $10.61. MFA Financial shares last traded at $10.69, with a volume of 112,721 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Friday, May 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

MFA Financial Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of -132.98 and a beta of 2.12.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is -1,749.78%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in MFA Financial by 8.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 2,758 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 49.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 290,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,793,000 after purchasing an additional 96,711 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 12.5% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 54,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,047 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 18.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,329,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,779,000 after purchasing an additional 203,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 434,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 54,570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.