MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.91% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MFA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of MFA Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MFA Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on MFA Financial from $10.50 to $10.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.81.

MFA Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MFA stock opened at $10.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.57. MFA Financial has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $11.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.63.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. MFA Financial had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 23.73%.The firm had revenue of $88.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MFA Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MFA. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MFA Financial by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in MFA Financial by 540.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 58.6% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, headquartered in New York City, is a real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company’s primary objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through net interest income and capital appreciation. As a mortgage REIT, MFA Financial focuses on constructing a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage assets, leveraging its expertise in acquiring, financing and servicing mortgage products.

MFA Financial’s investment portfolio encompasses a wide range of mortgage instruments, including adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgage loans, interest-only securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by government-sponsored entities.