ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.50) on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JonesTrading dropped their target price on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Down 0.4%

ARR stock opened at $16.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.36. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 12 month low of $13.98 and a 12 month high of $19.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.38.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. The business had revenue of $113.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.98 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 15.39%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.6%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 150.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,920,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,348,000 after purchasing an additional 53,570 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,495,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,447 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 22.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,154,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 45,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,149,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,175,000 after purchasing an additional 261,315 shares during the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company Profile

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.