ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• ARMOUR Residential REIT experienced a significant trading volume increase of 39%, with around 3.84 million shares traded on Wednesday, though its stock price fell to $16.33.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock; while Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded it to "buy", UBS maintained a "neutral" rating with a price target increase to $16.00.
• The company reported $0.77 EPS for the last quarter, missing expectations, despite revenue significantly exceeding estimates at $84.19 million.

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,837,561 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the previous session's volume of 2,752,209 shares.The stock last traded at $16.33 and had previously closed at $16.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ARR shares. Jones Trading reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.00.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Down 1.1%

The company's 50-day moving average is $16.58 and its 200-day moving average is $17.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.16 and a beta of 1.38.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $84.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.77 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a negative net margin of 4.55% and a positive return on equity of 15.89%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a aug 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1,720.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 73,352 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 42,823 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 146,706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 75,736 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $2,619,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $919,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,304,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,611,000 after buying an additional 156,514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company's stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company Profile

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.