ARMOUR Residential REIT Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ARR)

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 30,710 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,706% compared to the average volume of 1,700 call options.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ARR traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.68. 2,627,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,039,115. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 416.88 and a beta of 1.44. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a fifty-two week low of $13.18 and a fifty-two week high of $19.64.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $210.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7,200.00%.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,995,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $179,207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,147,068 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 17,311.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,019,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008,287 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,495,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,447 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 570.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 848,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,680,000 after buying an additional 722,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 115.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,109,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,581,000 after buying an additional 595,773 shares during the period. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ARR. Zacks Research upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.00.

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.