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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.70.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities dropped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 74.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,700,000 after buying an additional 151,321 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 902.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,629,000 after acquiring an additional 21,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 448,989 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 28,382 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of MFA Financial stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.86. 235,895 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,398. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.80. The company has a market cap of $907.85 million, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.26%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.78%.

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.