MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• MFA Financial, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with three hold ratings and five buy ratings among the eight analysts reviewing the stock.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.29, with a revenue of $61.28 million.
• MFA Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36, yielding 13.9%, though it has a high dividend payout ratio of 165.52%.

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.1429.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MFA shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $10.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jones Trading reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.11. The stock had a trading volume of 833,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,415. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.73. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.68.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The firm had revenue of $61.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 62.3% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 40.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,321 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 58.6% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.