MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MFA. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFA opened at $10.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 2.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.18. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $9.36 and a 1 year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. On average, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,005,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,985,000 after acquiring an additional 111,331 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,824,000 after purchasing an additional 502,840 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in MFA Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,629,000 after purchasing an additional 21,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,317,000 after buying an additional 60,261 shares during 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.