MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.00.

Separately, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $12.50 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 4,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in MFA Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 9,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MFA opened at $10.51 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $8.41 and a 52 week high of $11.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.03 and its 200 day moving average is $10.74. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $169.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.75 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 13.24% and a return on equity of 9.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 350.00%.

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.