Reading the tape
NYSE: MFAO
MFA Financial, Inc. 9.000% Senior Notes
Real Estate · REIT - Mortgage
Market Cap
$2.55B
52w High
$25.75
52w Low
$24.18
P/E
7.37
Volume
25.51K
Outstanding Shares
101.60M
Price vs Fundamentals
Why The Stock Is Moving
Mixed / unclearLow confidence
1Y Price: 0.72%Revenue (TTM): 25.55%FCF (TTM): 22.55%
What changed
The stock rose 0.72% over the last year. Revenue grew 25.55% over the trailing twelve months. Operating margin moved from 0.89% to 77.14%. Free cash flow grew 22.55% over the trailing twelve months.
What the market seems to be pricing
The stock has moved higher against modestly improving underlying metrics. The operating data does not yet tell a clear story — the move may reflect sentiment, sector rotation, or macro factors rather than company-specific earnings power.
What would invalidate this read
Operating margin currently stands at 77.14%. A decisive move in revenue — currently up 25.55% — would be the clearest signal to resolve the ambiguity.
Company profile
MFA Financial, Inc. is a real estate investment trust engaged in the business of investment, on a leveraged basis, in residential mortgage assets including agency mortgage-backed securities, non-agency mortgage-backed securities, and residential whole loans.
CEOCraig L. Knutson
SectorReal Estate
IndustryREIT - Mortgage
Employees348
IPO dateApr 24, 2024
Valuation
Forward P/E—
EV/EBITDA17.02
Enterprise value$11.75B
Price / Book1.40
Stock splits
No stock splits recorded for this ticker.
Profitability & growth
Standard profitability metrics can be misleading for financial/insurance companies. GAAP requires unrealized investment gains/losses in net income (affecting ROE), and margins are blended across diverse business segments.
Revenue growth-100%
Gross margin120.36%▲10.08%vs FY2024
Operating margin77.14%▲97.54%vs FY2024
ROE9.67%▲49.39%vs FY2024
Analyst consensus
Rating—
Target price—
Analyst ratings tend to be lagging indicators. Use as one signal among many.
Earnings
Full quarter-by-quarter history of actuals vs estimates. Switch into compare mode to inspect one metric year-over-year.
Next report
May 5, 2026
Q2 FY26 · EPS est $0.31 · Revenue est $67.52M
View
Dividends
$2.25/shareQuarterlySafeMFAO pays a dividend with a 8.96% dividend yield, covered 1.9× by free cash flow.
Dividend Yield
8.96%
Annual Div / Share
$2.25
TTM $1.44
CAGR
—
FCF Coverage
1.9×
Safe
Dividend Growth Rate
Dividend Safety
8/10Safe
Dividend History
Annualized dividend cycles per share
YearAnnual DivYoY
2026$2.25-7.2%
2025$2.42—
Income Projection
Invest
$
Growth rate:
Reinvest dividends
Today
$90/yr
$7/mo
In 5 yrs
$90/yr
$7/mo
In 10 yrs
$90/yr
$7/mo
| Today | In 5 yrs | In 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|
$90/yr $7/mo | $90/yr $7/mo | $90/yr $7/mo |
Analysis
Dividend Strengths
Well-covered by free cash flow
The dividend is covered 1.9× by free cash flow, indicating the company generates sufficient cash to sustain and potentially grow the payout without straining its finances.
Risks to Watch
No strong risk signal stands out from the latest period pair.