Brokerages Set ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) PT at $18.17

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.1667.

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE ARR opened at $16.58 on Friday. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1-year low of $13.18 and a 1-year high of $19.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.93 and a 200-day moving average of $16.89. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.44.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last announced 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 business 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%. On average, analysts forecast that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is 105.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $123,403.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,240.60. This trade represents a 87.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 86,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 10.2% during the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 9,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 29,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 19,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.