ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.43 and traded as high as $17.46. ARMOUR Residential REIT shares last traded at $17.14, with a volume of 5,075,958 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARR. JonesTrading decreased their price objective on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $17.50) on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.43. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.36.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $70.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.79 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 15.39%. Sell-side analysts expect that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 16.8%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,495,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,447 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 115.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 234.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 664,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,080,000 after purchasing an additional 465,733 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 341.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 471,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,337,000 after purchasing an additional 364,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.