Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its target price trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $13.50 to $12.50 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

MFA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA opened at $10.36 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 2.11. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $13.45.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 analyst estimates of $58.06 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.52%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 172.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MFA. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 181,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,849,000 after buying an additional 23,950 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 9,485 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,017,000 after buying an additional 68,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

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.