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

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.40.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,779,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,940,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411,692 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $7,910,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 14.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 411,205 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 17.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 822,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,753,000 after buying an additional 123,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,150,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE MFA opened at $13.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.21. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -164.63 and a beta of 2.16. MFA Financial has a one year low of $8.41 and a one year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,750.00%.

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.