MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Given New $12.50 Price Target at JMP Securities

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its target price lowered by JMP Securities from $13.50 to $12.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MFA. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.80.

MFA Financial Price Performance

NYSE MFA opened at $10.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 2.11. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $9.36 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.48.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.84%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 88.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 639.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MFA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $428,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,681 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.