ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Short Interest Down 20.3% in February

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) saw a large decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. B. Riley raised ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ARR traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $18.67. 2,362,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,208. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -43.41 and a beta of 1.53. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 52 week low of $17.35 and a 52 week high of $21.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.22.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $466,720.56. Following the sale, the director now 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $45,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,749.51. The trade was a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 300.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 124,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 93,397 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 70.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 29,306 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,807,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,880,000 after buying an additional 27,575 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $419,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 449,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,485,000 after acquiring an additional 120,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

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.