JMP Securities Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at JMP Securities from $12.50 to $12.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target indicates a potential upside of 34.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.60.

MFA Financial Trading Up 3.3 %

MFA traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $8.92. 137,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,530. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.80. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $914.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. Equities analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in MFA Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,317,000 after purchasing an additional 60,261 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $428,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,629,000 after buying an additional 21,331 shares during the period. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,484,000. Hedge funds and other 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.