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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,430,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the September 30th total of 4,070,000 shares. Approximately 9.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ARR. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.83.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ARR traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,895,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,218. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.74. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 1-year low of $13.71 and a 1-year high of $21.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 1.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.01. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a positive return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $127.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.37%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.03%.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In related news, Chairman Daniel C. Staton acquired 10,000 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.86 per share, for a total transaction of $198,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 24,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,434.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARR. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 67.8% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the second quarter valued at approximately $99,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 304.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the second quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 19.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.