Norges Bank Makes New Investment in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 138,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,619,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 171.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 17,342 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 42.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 108,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 32,351 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,807,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,880,000 after purchasing an additional 27,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 300.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 124,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after buying an additional 93,397 shares during the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock opened at $14.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.78 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.67. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.18 and a 12 month high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 20.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -669.77%.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,749.51. The trade was a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ARR shares. B. Riley raised ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT 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.