Brokerages Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) PT at $13.70

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.70.

Several research analysts recently commented on MFA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 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 MFA Financial by 15.2% in 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 valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 23,950 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,017,000 after buying an additional 68,846 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFA opened at $10.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.36. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. On average, equities analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 172.84%.

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.