ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.01%.The company had revenue of $236.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.34 million.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARR traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,367,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,014,514. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.56. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 52 week low of $13.18 and a 52 week high of $19.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 442.10 and a beta of 1.46.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.3%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s payout ratio is currently 7,200.00%.

Insider Transactions at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $123,403.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,240.60. This trade represents a 87.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,495,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,447 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 115.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,109,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 595,773 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 341.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 471,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,337,000 after purchasing an additional 364,515 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 22.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,855,148 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,716,000 after purchasing an additional 338,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the third quarter worth about $4,258,000. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JonesTrading raised shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.50 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.50 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.33.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) is a mortgage real estate investment trust that was formed in 2008 to acquire and manage a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The company’s investments are primarily agency-sponsored and agency-guaranteed RMBS issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, along with credit risk transfer securities and select non-agency residential and multifamily RMBS. By focusing on high-quality mortgage assets, ARMOUR Residential REIT seeks to generate stable income and preserve capital through diversified exposure to the U.S.