MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $6.49 and last traded at $6.4450, with a volume of 177,790 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MFA. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. William Blair set a $11.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price target (down from $10.50) on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.79.

MFA Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $661.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.20 and its 200-day moving average is $9.07.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 22.0%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth $29,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the second quarter worth $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 109.4% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc is a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage assets. The company focuses on generating income from a portfolio of residential mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities and other mortgage-related investments.

Its investments may include agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, residential whole loans, credit-risk transfer securities and mortgage servicing rights. MFA also acquires and manages residential mortgage assets through subsidiaries and strategic investment relationships, with activities centered on the U.S.