MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.92.

MFA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $10.00 price target on MFA Financial and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,681 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $135,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,824,000 after purchasing an additional 502,840 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MFA opened at $9.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $978.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.66. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.14.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

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.