MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an outperform rating and set a $12.50 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MFA Financial has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $12.45.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,075,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,343. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.38. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $7.15 and a 12 month high of $17.04.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.56%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is presently -54.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MFA Financial news, major shareholder Starwood Capital Group Global sold 10,188,539 shares of MFA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.07, for a total transaction of $102,598,587.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 55.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,131,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,823,000 after acquiring an additional 404,416 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 11.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 6.4% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 905,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 54,553 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter worth $63,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 113.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,127,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,573,000 after buying an additional 1,131,300 shares during the period. 64.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MFA Financial

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MFA Financial, Inc is a real estate investment trust. engages in the business of investment, on a leveraged basis, in residential mortgage assets including agency mortgage-backed securities, Non-Agency mortgage backed securities and residential whole loans. The company was founded by Stewart Zimmerman on July 24, 1997 and is headquartered in New York, NY.