ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.50.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARR shares. UBS Group restated 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. Weiss Ratings raised ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JonesTrading decreased their price objective on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

ARR stock opened at $16.68 on Wednesday. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1 year low of $13.98 and a 1 year high of $19.31. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.83 and a 200 day moving average of $17.18.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $113.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.98 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the second quarter worth about $13,757,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 10.2% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 28,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 2.9% during the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 29,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 395,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,893,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 61.0% in 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. 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.