MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• MFA Financial, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average target price of $11.75 for the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, representing an annualized yield of 15.7% but a high payout ratio of 165.52%.
• MFA Financial reported earnings of $0.24 per share, missing expectations, with revenue of $61.28 million beating estimates of $59.50 million.

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.75.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MFA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities cut their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Jones Trading restated a "hold" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.2%

MFA Financial stock opened at $9.20 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $9.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.62. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $12.78. The company has a market capitalization of $944.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.70.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 17.62%.The company had revenue of $61.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.7%. MFA Financial's payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 124,317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 29,584 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 181,431 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 2,416.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,190 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 13,626 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 259,448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,662,000 after buying an additional 15,720 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 6,030,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $61,874,000 after buying an additional 944,608 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by 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.

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