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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.00.

Separately, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,180,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,289,000 after buying an additional 411,205 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 172,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 3,709 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in MFA Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,988,562 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $112,571,000 after purchasing an additional 42,419 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFA traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $10.28. The company had a trading volume of 618,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,107. MFA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $8.41 and a fifty-two week high of $11.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 2.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.05 and its 200 day moving average is $10.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $169.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.75 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.62%. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 350.00%.

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.