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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.4583.

MFA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research raised shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, August 20th. William Blair set a $11.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

MFA Financial stock opened at $8.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $902.53 million, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.42. MFA Financial has a one year low of $8.80 and a one year high of $10.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.62.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.1%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 144.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 691,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,094,000 after buying an additional 96,365 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 7.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 167,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,584,000 after buying an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 5.3% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 3,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the second quarter worth $716,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

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.