MFA Financial, Inc. (MFA) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 on October 31st

MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 12th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th.

MFA Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 8.4% annually over the last three years. MFA Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 84.8% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect MFA Financial to earn $1.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 96.6%.

MFA Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE MFA traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,024,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,138. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -162.73 and a beta of 2.16. MFA Financial has a 1-year low of $8.41 and a 1-year high of $13.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.00.

About MFA Financial

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.