MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price Passes Below 50 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• MFA Financial shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $9.27 and last changing hands around $9.33, which may signal weaker near-term momentum.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $10.45, while recent analyst moves included lower targets from RBC and KBW and a downgrade from Weiss Ratings.
• The company reported mixed recent fundamentals, missing quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, even as it announced a $0.36 quarterly dividend yielding about 15.4%; however, the payout ratio is very high at 165.52%.

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.45 and traded as low as $9.27. MFA Financial shares last traded at $9.3250, with a volume of 1,008,948 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MFA. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered MFA Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded MFA Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.45.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $947.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.41. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $9.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.73.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $43.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 16.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,094,000 after buying an additional 96,365 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in MFA Financial by 7.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 167,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in MFA Financial by 5.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the second quarter worth about $716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company's stock.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company's primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial's investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.

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