MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

MFA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. JMP Securities cut 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. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MFA opened at $10.59 on Friday. MFA Financial has a twelve month low of $9.36 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.17.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. As a group, analysts expect that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 177.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 181,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 23,950 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,017,000 after buying an additional 68,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.