Brokerages Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Price Target at $13.70

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.70.

Several research firms have weighed in on MFA. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,325,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 531.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 794,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,095,000 after purchasing an additional 668,618 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,824,000 after purchasing an additional 502,840 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $3,564,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $8.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $884.78 million, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.61. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.30 and a 200-day moving average of $10.83.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. Analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 177.78%.

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.