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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.50.

ARR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JonesTrading reduced their price target on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (up from $17.50) on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE ARR opened at $16.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.18. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 12-month low of $13.98 and a 12-month high of $19.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.37.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.72. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 44.90%.The firm had revenue of $113.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.98 million. Equities analysts expect that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% in 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 buying an additional 1,959,447 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,757,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 115.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,109,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,581,000 after acquiring an additional 595,773 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 234.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 664,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,080,000 after acquiring an additional 465,733 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 341.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 471,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,337,000 after acquiring an additional 364,515 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

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.