MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.45 and traded as low as $9.27. MFA Financial shares last traded at $9.3250, with a volume of 1,008,948 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.45.

MFA Financial Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a market cap of $923.04 million, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.43 and a 200-day moving average of $9.73.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 17.80%.The business had revenue of $43.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.9%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 86.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in MFA Financial by 540.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.