MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Downgraded by Weiss Ratings to Sell (D+)

Key Points

• MFA Financial was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" to a "sell (d+)" rating, indicating a shift in analyst outlook on the company.
• Despite the downgrade, four analysts still rate the stock as a Buy, while others have set a consensus target price of $11.75.
• In its latest earnings report, MFA Financial reported $0.24 earnings per share, missing estimates of $0.29, and had a revenue of $61.28 million for the quarter.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. JMP Securities dropped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jones Trading reissued 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 dropped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $10.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.75.

MFA Financial Trading Up 2.2%

MFA opened at $9.17 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $9.71 and its 200-day moving average is $9.58. The stock has a market cap of $941.48 million, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.70. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $12.78.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $61.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,085,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,139,000 after purchasing an additional 147,498 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 10,897.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,944 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 58,408 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $589,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,508,456 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,477,000 after acquiring an additional 285,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 507,580 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 27,890 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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