JMP Securities Has Lowered Expectations for MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) had its price objective cut by JMP Securities from $12.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market outperform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on MFA. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Jones Trading upgraded shares of MFA Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.07.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded down $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $9.21. The stock had a trading volume of 979,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,713. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.89. MFA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $945.41 million, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is 146.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 823.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 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.