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

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $10.09 and last traded at $10.39, with a volume of 203493 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities raised their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

MFA Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.47%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $189,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

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.