MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.70.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities cut their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth $18,325,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 531.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 794,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,095,000 after buying an additional 668,618 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 11.0% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 502,840 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,564,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in MFA Financial by 902.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MFA opened at $10.91 on Tuesday. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.25. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 2.18.

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

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

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.