Wall Street Zen Upgrades ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from “strong sell” to “sell,” though the rating remains negative. Across analysts, ARR has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $16.56 average price target.
• ARR opened at $12.60, close to its one-year low of $12.02; its 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $14.04 and $16.36, respectively.
• The REIT reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, matching estimates, while revenue of $121.7 million exceeded expectations of $119.84 million.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ARR. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. JonesTrading cut their price target on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from $19.00 to $15.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on ARMOUR Residential REIT from $18.00 to $14.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.56.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARR opened at $12.60 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $14.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.36. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a one year low of $12.02 and a one year high of $19.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.47.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71. The firm had revenue of $121.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.84 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a negative net margin of 5.09% and a positive return on equity of 15.90%. Analysts anticipate that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Daniel Staton sold 35,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.86, for a total transaction of $564,346.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $377,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,171 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 13,775 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 5.6% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 63,073 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 79.0% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 22,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.17% of the company's stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company Profile

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust that invests primarily in residential mortgage-backed securities. Its portfolio generally consists of securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or by U.S. government agencies such as Ginnie Mae.

The company invests in a range of agency mortgage securities, including fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, specified pools and to-be-announced securities.

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