MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $8.38 and last traded at $8.4150, with a volume of 1562538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MFA. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. William Blair set a $11.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. BTIG Research raised shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.46.

MFA Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $860.07 million, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MFA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MFA. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,459,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,667,000 after purchasing an additional 271,707 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 245.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 777,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,444,000 after buying an additional 551,927 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MFA Financial by 0.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 537,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,213,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in MFA Financial during the second quarter worth about $3,589,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in MFA Financial by 25.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 301,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after buying an additional 61,781 shares in the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Company Profile

MFA Financial, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses primarily on residential mortgage assets. The company invests in and manages a portfolio that may include agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, residential whole loans, mortgage servicing rights and other residential credit investments.

MFA’s investment activities are designed to provide exposure to the U.S. residential housing and mortgage markets. Through its affiliated businesses, the company also participates in residential lending, including financing for single-family rental properties and residential real estate investors.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, MFA Financial has operated as a publicly traded mortgage REIT since its initial public offering in 1998.