MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• MFA Financial was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analysts' sentiment.
• Despite the upgrade, Weiss Ratings downgraded MFA Financial from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, indicating mixed opinions among researchers regarding the stock.
• MFA Financial reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of $0.24 compared to the expected $0.29, although it had a revenue of $61.28 million which exceeded expectations.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered MFA Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities lowered their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of MFA Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.75.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $9.14 on Friday. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $12.75. The firm has a market cap of $937.89 million, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.49.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The company had revenue of $61.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 176.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 136,533 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 87,133 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 303,464 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 26,724 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 130,145 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 33,373 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 19.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 49,505 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 8,041 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 102.8% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 204,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 103,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company's stock.

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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