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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 12,292,349 shares, a growth of 21.4% from the January 29th total of 10,127,985 shares. Approximately 10.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,517,657 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,517,657 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 10.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 6,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $123,403.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,240.60. The trade was a 87.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,995,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $179,207,000 after buying an additional 3,147,068 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 365.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,495,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,447 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 570.6% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 848,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,680,000 after acquiring an additional 722,160 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 115.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,109,852 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 595,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 27.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,968,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,092,000 after purchasing an additional 426,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Up 0.3%

ARR opened at $17.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.05 and a 200-day moving average of $16.73. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 12-month low of $13.18 and a 12-month high of $19.31.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.03). ARMOUR Residential REIT had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $236.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.34 million. On average, analysts expect that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 16.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ARR shares. Compass Point began coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.50 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JonesTrading dropped their target price on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.17.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company Profile

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) is a mortgage real estate investment trust that was formed in 2008 to acquire and manage a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The company’s investments are primarily agency-sponsored and agency-guaranteed RMBS issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, along with credit risk transfer securities and select non-agency residential and multifamily RMBS. By focusing on high-quality mortgage assets, ARMOUR Residential REIT seeks to generate stable income and preserve capital through diversified exposure to the U.S.