MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JMP Securities lowered their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:MFA opened at $10.86 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 2.18. MFA Financial has a 1 year low of $9.36 and a 1 year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. On average, analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.27%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 177.78%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $428,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,629,000 after buying an additional 21,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $2,484,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Company Profile

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.