ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $13.94 and last traded at $13.9020, with a volume of 904269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ARR. Weiss Ratings cut ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.73.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.72. The business had revenue of $113.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.98 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 44.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Daniel Staton sold 35,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.86, for a total value of $564,346.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARR. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 576.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 161.2% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Its portfolio is focused mainly on securities issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises and U.S. government agencies, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

The company seeks to generate income from its investment portfolio and finances its activities through arrangements such as repurchase agreements. ARMOUR also uses interest-rate hedging strategies and other financial instruments to manage exposure to changing interest rates, financing costs and market conditions.

ARMOUR Residential REIT was organized in 2007 and is externally managed by ARMOUR Capital Management LP.