MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

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

MFA Financial Stock Down 1.3 %

MFA Financial stock opened at $10.86 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.22. The firm 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 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in MFA Financial by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 112,520 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 14,333 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in MFA Financial by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 250,535 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $189,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,509,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $329,000. 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.