MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.06 million.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MFA traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,474,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,152. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.38. MFA Financial has a one year low of $9.36 and a one year high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. One equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.70.

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.