MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $7.95 and last traded at $7.9550, with a volume of 752569 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MFA. Weiss Ratings downgraded MFA Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. BTIG Research raised shares of MFA Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of MFA Financial in a report on Thursday, August 20th. William Blair set a $11.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.46.

MFA Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $801.14 million, a P/E ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.38.

MFA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.2%. MFA Financial’s payout ratio is 144.00%.

Institutional Trading of MFA Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of MFA Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 74,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 109.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 65.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MFA Financial

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.