MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Given Market Outperform Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market outperform rating on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $12.50 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

MFA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

MFA opened at $10.28 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $8.41 and a 52-week high of $11.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.69. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70 and a beta of 2.10.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.12. MFA Financial had a net margin of 13.24% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $169.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MFA Financial will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.62%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 350.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of MFA Financial by 55.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,131,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 404,416 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 11.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 6.4% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 905,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 54,553 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in MFA Financial in the first quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 113.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,127,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,300 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.