Janney Montgomery Scott Initiates Coverage on MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA)

Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $14.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MFA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Raymond James boosted their target price on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MFA opened at $10.34 on Thursday. MFA Financial has a 52-week low of $9.88 and a 52-week high of $13.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 2.11.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MFA. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of MFA Financial by 35.4% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 4,583,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,297,000 after buying an additional 1,197,220 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 337,142 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 898,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,425,000 after purchasing an additional 250,535 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $2,509,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,579,818 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,700,000 after purchasing an additional 151,321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.