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

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,620,000 shares, an increase of 29.8% from the February 28th total of 5,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $45,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARMOUR Residential REIT

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,157 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $114,031,000 after acquiring an additional 895,433 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,807,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,880,000 after purchasing an additional 27,575 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 86.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,628,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,721,000 after purchasing an additional 754,582 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,304,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $24,611,000 after purchasing an additional 156,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,865,000. 54.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARR shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley raised ARMOUR Residential REIT to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research began coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.03. 2,776,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,650,395. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -34.94 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.00. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a twelve month low of $15.00 and a twelve month high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.16%. ARMOUR Residential REIT's dividend payout ratio is currently -669.77%.

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.