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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,100,000 shares, a decline of 20.3% from the February 13th total of 6,400,000 shares. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $45,175.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,749.51. The trade was a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARR. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $19,865,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $114,031,000 after purchasing an additional 895,433 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 754,582 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 486.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 814,009 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,352,000 after purchasing an additional 675,259 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1,204.2% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 350,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,604,000 after purchasing an additional 323,298 shares in the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARR traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.80. 2,373,179 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,517,934. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1 year low of $17.35 and a 1 year high of $21.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.73 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.22.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.