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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARR. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. B. Riley upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARR traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,362,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,208. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.75 and its 200 day moving average is $19.22. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 52-week low of $17.35 and a 52-week high of $21.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.41 and a beta of 1.53.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at $122,749.51. The trade was a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,695 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 21,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 11,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.