ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

ARR has been the subject of a number of other reports. B. Riley upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARR traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,699,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,955. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.48. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 12 month low of $17.35 and a 12 month high of $21.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 363 shares in the company, valued at $6,817.14. This trade represents a 98.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $45,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $114,031,000 after purchasing an additional 895,433 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 27,575 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 86.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,628,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,721,000 after buying an additional 754,582 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,304,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,611,000 after buying an additional 156,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the fourth quarter valued at $19,865,000. 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.