StockNews.com Downgrades MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) to Hold

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MFA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated 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. Finally, JMP Securities reduced their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

MFA Financial Price Performance

Shares of MFA Financial stock opened at $10.59 on Friday. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $9.36 and a 52-week high of $13.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 2.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.16.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.02). MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $50.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.06 million. Analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $140,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in MFA Financial by 15.2% in 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 valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 23,950 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,571,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,017,000 after purchasing an additional 68,846 shares during 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.