ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,400,000 shares, an increase of 58.0% from the January 31st total of 4,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $466,720.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,817.14. This represents a 98.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 19.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 20,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 66.7% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,904,000. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. B. Riley raised ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock traded down $0.38 on Monday, hitting $18.67. 3,275,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,489,566. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -43.42 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.34. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 52 week low of $17.35 and a 52 week high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -669.77%.

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.