MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

MFA has been the topic of several other research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their target price on MFA Financial from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $13.70.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

MFA traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.01. 711,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,871. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $9.36 and a 1-year high of $13.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 2.18.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $50.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.06 million. Analysts predict that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,005,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $139,985,000 after acquiring an additional 111,331 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in MFA Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,085,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,824,000 after purchasing an additional 502,840 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in MFA Financial by 6.2% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in MFA Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,895,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,317,000 after purchasing an additional 60,261 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.