MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Sees Strong Trading Volume

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA – Get Rating) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 35,463 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the previous session’s volume of 1,086,899 shares.The stock last traded at $15.02 and had previously closed at $14.99.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MFA shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Friday, March 25th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.38.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.12). MFA Financial had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 95.85%. The firm had revenue of $70.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 21st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 67.69%.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MFA. EMG Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the third quarter valued at about $10,246,000. Centiva Capital LP raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 27.0% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 17,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 3,704 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 167.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 308,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 192,825 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 73.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,981,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,907,000 after buying an additional 2,952,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in MFA Financial by 278.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 816,549 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,731,000 after purchasing an additional 600,821 shares in the last quarter. 70.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MFA Financial Company Profile (NYSE:MFA)

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company invests in residential mortgage assets, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), 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.

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