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

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.70.

MFA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reduced their price target on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target for the company.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

MFA traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $10.31. 1,474,891 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,090,856. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $10.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 2.11. MFA Financial has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.06 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial's payout ratio is currently 172.84%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,890 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its position in MFA Financial by 12.7% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.