MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Declares $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st.

MFA Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 8.4% annually over the last three years. MFA Financial has a payout ratio of 85.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Research analysts expect MFA Financial to earn $1.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 96.6%.

MFA Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

MFA traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.80. 812,944 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,875. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.57. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $10.20 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 2.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

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.