ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Short Interest Update

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,400,000 shares, a growth 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 currently 3.0 days.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARR traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,392,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,014. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.17 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.33.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.51%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s payout ratio is presently -669.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARR. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut 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. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $45,175.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $466,720.56. Following the sale, 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. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARR. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $19,865,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $114,031,000 after buying an additional 895,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 486.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 814,009 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,352,000 after buying an additional 675,259 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1,204.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 350,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,604,000 after buying an additional 323,298 shares during the period. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.