MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $8.84 and last traded at $9.02, with a volume of 270130 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.05. The company has a market cap of $929.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.61.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 EPS 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 business had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.06 million. Research analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.89%. This is a boost from MFA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 177.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of MFA Financial by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 174,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 11,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 59,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 2,328 shares in the last quarter. 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.