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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the May 31st total of 3,520,000 shares. Approximately 7.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 992,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARR. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 454.7% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $187,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 11.2% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 12,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $344,000. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARR stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 413,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,819. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.16. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a one year low of $13.31 and a one year high of $26.90.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a negative net margin of 3.83% and a positive return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of $141.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.60 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ARMOUR Residential REIT will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.78%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -399.99%.

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.