MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

Several research firms recently commented on MFA. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

MFA Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

MFA opened at $9.95 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.88 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.97 and a 200-day moving average of $11.55.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.07%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 88.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 2.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,753,000 after buying an additional 23,852 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 6.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 448,989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,572,000 after buying an additional 28,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in MFA Financial by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. 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.