Brokerages Set MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) Target Price at $14.00

Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MFA. StockNews.com downgraded MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.18 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $9.88 and a fifty-two week high of $13.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $11.55.

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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.75%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,005,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,985,000 after buying an additional 111,331 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $58,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,220 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in MFA Financial by 6.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,700,000 after acquiring an additional 151,321 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MFA Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,407,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,629,000 after acquiring an additional 21,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MFA Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,835,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,346,000 after purchasing an additional 12,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

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.