JMP Securities Cuts MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Price Target to $11.00

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

MFA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jones Trading raised shares of MFA Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.07.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA Financial stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $9.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 979,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,877. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.88. The company has a market cap of $945.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $57.54 million during 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 firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

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