MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.60.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Square LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 41,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in MFA Financial by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

MFA opened at $11.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.00 and its 200-day moving average is $11.56. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $10.20 and a 52-week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.05%.

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.