MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $14.50. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. MFA Financial traded as high as $13.45 and last traded at $13.22, with a volume of 123240 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.15.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411,692 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $860,000. Clayton Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,071,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 82.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -162.67 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.22.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.76%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,749.78%.

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.