MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $9.88 and last traded at $9.93, with a volume of 96390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MFA. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $974.89 million, a P/E ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.66%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 88.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in MFA Financial by 35.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 902.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in MFA Financial by 38.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 250,535 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in MFA Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.