ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Upgraded at Jones Trading

Jones Trading upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $20.50 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.50 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.33.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARR opened at $19.14 on Friday. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1 year low of $13.18 and a 1 year high of $19.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.42 and its 200-day moving average is $16.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 478.38 and a beta of 1.44.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $210.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.25 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.01%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7,200.00%.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $123,403.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,010 shares in the company, valued at $18,240.60. The trade was a 87.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARR. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 570.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 848,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,680,000 after buying an additional 722,160 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in the third quarter valued at about $4,706,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the second quarter valued at about $350,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 42.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 268,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 79,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC increased its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 121.9% during the 2nd quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 30,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 16,638 shares during the period. 54.17% of the stock is 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.