MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.92.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MFA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $10.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the first quarter worth $25,000. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MFA traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.47. The stock had a trading volume of 625,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,116. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.17. The firm has a market cap of $972.12 million, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.69. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $57.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.21%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 146.94%.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.