Short Interest in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Increases By 29.8%

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,620,000 shares, a growth of 29.8% from the February 28th total of 5,100,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,749.51. This represents a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARR stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,247,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,635,233. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -38.95 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.04. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a twelve month low of $16.56 and a twelve month high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s 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.