ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.1667.

ARR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JonesTrading dropped their price objective on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of ARR stock opened at $17.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.44. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1 year low of $13.18 and a 1 year high of $19.31.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.03). ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.34 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is 105.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $123,403.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,240.60. This trade represents a 87.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 570.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 848,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,680,000 after purchasing an additional 722,160 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,995,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $179,207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,147,068 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,037,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 34.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,119,000 after buying an additional 138,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 57.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 439,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,560,000 after buying an additional 160,422 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

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.