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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th.

ARMOUR Residential REIT has a payout ratio of 63.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ARMOUR Residential REIT to earn $4.11 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 70.1%.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of ARR opened at $18.93 on Thursday. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1 year low of $17.35 and a 1 year high of $21.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $45,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total transaction of $466,720.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 363 shares in the company, valued at $6,817.14. The trade was a 98.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

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.