ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Announces $0.24 Monthly Dividend

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, May 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th.

ARMOUR Residential REIT has a dividend payout ratio of 82.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect ARMOUR Residential REIT to earn $4.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.8%.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARR traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.42. 2,477,489 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,956,431. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.17 and a beta of 1.36. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 52-week low of $13.18 and a 52-week high of $21.93. The company's 50-day moving average is $15.84 and its 200-day moving average is $17.76.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $75.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.59 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a positive return on equity of 16.00% and a negative net margin of 2.61%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARR. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the first quarter valued at $181,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 189.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 92,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,577,000 after acquiring an additional 60,371 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 40,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 807,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,800,000 after acquiring an additional 222,923 shares in the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jones Trading restated a "hold" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the United States. Its securities portfolio primarily consists of the United States Government-sponsored entity's (GSE) and the Government National Mortgage Administration's issued or guaranteed securities backed by fixed rate, hybrid adjustable rate, and adjustable-rate home loans; and unsecured notes and bonds issued by the GSE and the United States treasuries, as well as money market instruments.