Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $8.74 and last traded at $8.73, with a volume of 1,271,394 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.68.
The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $61.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.91 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 61.22% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 29th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.17%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.57%.
A number of equities analysts have commented on MFA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Monday, May 15th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MFA Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 15th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. MFA Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.11.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in MFA Financial by 34.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 475,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after buying an additional 123,042 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in MFA Financial by 3.2% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 598,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,836,000 after buying an additional 18,297 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MFA Financial by 11.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,199,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,852,000 after buying an additional 333,383 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in MFA Financial by 1.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 3,504 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Advisors LLC increased its position in MFA Financial by 119.4% in the first quarter. Geneva Advisors LLC now owns 195,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after buying an additional 106,297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.80% of the company’s stock.
The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.52 and its 200-day moving average is $8.20. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.72.
About MFA Financial
MFA Financial, Inc is engaged in the real estate finance business. The Company’s subsidiaries invest in residential mortgage assets, including Non-Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), Agency MBS, residential whole loans and credit risk transfer (CRT) securities. The Company’s Non-Agency MBS portfolio primarily consists of Legacy Non-Agency MBS and 3 Year Step-up securities.
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