Editor’s Note: Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR), ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR), Javelin Mortgage Investment Corp (NYSE:JMI)
ARMOUR and JAVELIN Name New COO; ARMOUR Gets a New Director (DailyFinance)
Both ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) and closely related entity Javelin will soon have a new man in the COO’s chair. Both firms announced that Mark Gruber has been named to the position. ARMOUR also filled a board seat by naming Carolyn Downey an independent director. Both appointments are effective September 3. At the moment, Gruber is the head of portfolio management at both ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) and Javelin Mortgage Investment Corp (NYSE:JMI) as well as ARMOUR Residential Management, another affiliated company. Prior to that, he managed a $1.1 billion mortgage portfolio at Penn Mutual. Earlier in his career, he worked at Lockheed Martin as an engineer.
Trader’s Watch List – Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV), Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP), Opko Health Inc. (NYSE:OPK) (SBWire)
Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) showing bearish movement during previous trade, ended its day with the loss of -0.72% and closed at the price of $9.59, after opening at $9.68. During the previous session, the company’s minimum price was $9.54, while it touched its highest price for the day at $9.71. TWO’s earnings per share was $2.25. Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO) operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on investing in, financing, and managing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), residential mortgage loans, and other financial assets.
Mortgage REIT Insiders Take Advantage of the Dip (DailyFinance)
It’s been a rough and tumble season for mortgage REITs as QE3 taper fears and rising interest rates ravage the sector. Nearly every mREIT has seen damage to earnings and book value since May, when agency-only giant American Capital Agency upset the apple cart by posting a first-quarter loss in both areas. At Hatteras Financial, CEO Michael Hough and COO Benjamin Hough each bought at least 12,000 shares at the end of July, after that company’s stock value fell almost $6 from the end of May. Likewise, CEO Richard King of Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (NYSE:IVR) did some bargain buying on August 5, purchasing 6,500 shares at a savings of $4.50 each, compared to his previous buy in mid-May.
High-Paying REITs Worth A Hard Look (Seeking Alpha)
All of the REITs are subject to Interest Rate Risk. If the interest rates go up, the money tied up in current investments would earn a lower interest and cause the value of the stock to go down. This may also cause the company to pay more for borrowing money and impact the income and bottom line profits. The companies we highlight here are Javelin Mortgage Investment Corp., ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) and Apollo Residential Mortgage Inc. We believe these companies are strong enough to provide dividends now and into the future when the interest rates increase.
