ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.1667.

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of ARR opened at $17.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.85.

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.9%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.49%.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 1,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,240.60. The trade was a 87.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 50.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,088,000 after buying an additional 40,860 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 26.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 38.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 807,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,800,000 after buying an additional 222,923 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 189.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 92,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 60,371 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $181,000. 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.