ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 1,324,629 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 1,196,657 shares.The stock last traded at $18.72 and had previously closed at $18.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARR. B. Riley raised their price target on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.83.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.71 and a 200-day moving average of $19.81.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.01. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 24.17% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $127.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.95 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is 122.03%.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Chairman Daniel C. Staton purchased 10,000 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.86 per share, for a total transaction of $198,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 24,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,434.40. This represents a 71.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Hain acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.08 per share, with a total value of $47,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,158.84. This trade represents a 38.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARR. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 76.3% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 138,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after acquiring an additional 59,791 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 349,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,768,000 after purchasing an additional 47,735 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,904,000. LifePro Asset Management grew its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 34.7% in the third quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 141,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 36,439 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the United States. Its securities portfolio primarily consists of the United States Government-sponsored entity's (GSE) and the Government National Mortgage Administration's issued or guaranteed securities backed by fixed rate, hybrid adjustable rate, and adjustable-rate home loans; and unsecured notes and bonds issued by the GSE and the United States treasuries, as well as money market instruments.