ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. $ARR Shares Acquired by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) by 618.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 109,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 94,462 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 34.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,119,000 after purchasing an additional 138,039 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,995,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $179,207,000 after acquiring an additional 3,147,068 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 191.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 215,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 141,568 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 439,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,560,000 after acquiring an additional 160,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 340,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 72,287 shares during the period. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:ARR opened at $17.02 on Thursday. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $13.98 and a one year high of $19.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.42.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $70.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.79 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 16.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ARR shares. 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 cut ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research raised ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $17.50) on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JonesTrading lowered their price target on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT 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.