ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Short Interest Up 7.7% in June

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the first quarter worth about $1,549,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 42,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the first quarter valued at about $525,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 454.7% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARR shares. StockNews.com downgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of ARR stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.48. 413,004 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,065,819. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.16. ARMOUR Residential REIT has a 12-month low of $13.31 and a 12-month high of $26.90.

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is -399.99%.

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.