MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.4583.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. William Blair set a $11.00 target price on MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on MFA Financial from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BTIG Research raised MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

MFA Financial Price Performance

MFA opened at $8.37 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $845.62 million, a P/E ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.41. MFA Financial has a one year low of $8.36 and a one year high of $10.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,459,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,667,000 after buying an additional 271,707 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 245.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 777,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,444,000 after acquiring an additional 551,927 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 537,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,960 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in MFA Financial in the second quarter worth $3,589,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in MFA Financial by 25.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 301,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 61,781 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses primarily on residential mortgage assets. The company invests in and manages a portfolio that may include agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, residential whole loans, mortgage servicing rights and other residential credit investments.

MFA’s investment activities are designed to provide exposure to the U.S. residential housing and mortgage markets. Through its affiliated businesses, the company also participates in residential lending, including financing for single-family rental properties and residential real estate investors.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, MFA Financial has operated as a publicly traded mortgage REIT since its initial public offering in 1998.