MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Coverage Initiated at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $14.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MFA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

MFA stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.22. The stock had a trading volume of 956,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,412. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.88 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 2.12.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the second quarter worth $1,150,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 902.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in MFA Financial by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 157,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 67,449 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in MFA Financial by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,583,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in MFA Financial by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,629,000 after acquiring an additional 21,331 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.