8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

_____________

FORM 8-K

______________

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) January 28, 2026

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Maryland	001-34766	26-1908763
(State or Other Jurisdiction<br>of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)		3001 Ocean Drive, Suite 201
---	---	---
Vero Beach,	Florida	32963
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

(772) 617-4340

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

n/a

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☐    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class	Trading symbols	Name of Exchange on which registered
Preferred Stock, 7.00% Series C Cumulative Redeemable	ARR-PRC	New York Stock Exchange
Common Stock, $0.001 par value	ARR	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by a check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐

Item 1.01    Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On January 28, 2026, ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (“ARMOUR” or the “Company”) entered into Amendment No. 7 (the “Seventh Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which ARMOUR increased by 15,000,000 the number of shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), that may be offered and sold under the Company's Equity Sales Agreement, dated July 26, 2023 (the “Sales Agreement”), with BUCKLER Securities LLC, an affiliate of the Company (“BUCKLER”), B. Riley Securities, Inc. (“B. Riley Securities”), Citizens JMP Securities LLC (“Citizens Capital Markets”), JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC (“Jones”) and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. (“Ladenburg Thalmann”), as sales agents, and the Company’s external manager, ARMOUR Capital Management LP, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated October 25, 2023 (the “First Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the Company added StockBlock Securities LLC (“StockBlock”) to the Sales Agreement, as further amended by Amendment No. 2, dated June 20, 2024 (the “Second Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the Company added BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”) to the Sales Agreement, as further amended by Amendment No. 3, dated August 23, 2024 (the “Third Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock that may be offered and sold under the Sales Agreement was increased by 25,000,000, as further amended by Amendment No. 4, dated September 20, 2024 (the “Fourth Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the Company added Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, as further amended by Amendment No. 5, dated February 13, 2025 (the “Fifth Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock that may be offered and sold under the Sales Agreement was increased by 15,000,000, as further amended by Amendment No. 6, dated July 25, 2026 (the “Sixth Sales Agreement Amendment”), pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock that may be offered and sold under the Sales Agreement was increased by 9,500,000 (as so amended, the “Amended Sales Agreement”). The purpose of the Seventh Sales Agreement Amendment was to (i) increase the number of shares of Common Stock available under the Sales Agreement by 15,000,000 and (ii) remove Janney as a sales agent and add Huntington Securities, Inc. (“Huntington” and together with BUCKLER, B. Riley Securities, BTIG, Citizens Capital Markets, Jones, Ladenburg Thalmann and StockBlock, the “Agents”), as a sales agent. Pursuant to the Amended Sales Agreement, the Company may, from time to time, issue and sell up to 23,244,198 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company's Common Stock through or to the Agents. The Amended Sales Agreement includes the offer of 8,244,198 Shares that remained unsold under the Sales Agreement, as amended by the First Sales Agreement Amendment, the Second Sales Agreement Amendment, the Third Sales Agreement Amendment, the Fourth Sales Agreement Amendment, the Fifth Sales Agreement Amendment and the Sixth Sales Agreement, in addition to the offer of an additional 15,000,000 Shares.

The Amended Sales Agreement relates to an “at the market offering” program (the “Offering”) and the shares of Common Stock to be sold in the Offering will be issued pursuant to a prospectus supplement (the “ATM Prospectus Supplement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 28, 2026, in connection with the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-278327). ARMOUR originally established the equity sales program on July 26, 2023 when it entered into the Sales Agreement, and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the First Sales Agreement Amendment on October 25, 2023 and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the Second Sales Agreement Amendment on June 20, 2024 and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the Third Sales Agreement Amendment on August 23, 2024 and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the Fourth Sales Agreement Amendment on September 20, 2024 and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the Fifth Sales Agreement Amendment on February 13, 2025 and filed a related prospectus supplement. ARMOUR entered into the Sixth Sales Agreement Amendment on July 25, 2025 and filed a related prospectus supplement. The ATM Prospectus Supplement amends and restates in its entirety such related prospectus supplement and the Common Stock to which the ATM Prospectus Supplement relates is offered pursuant to the terms of the Amended Sales Agreement.

The Seventh Sales Agreement Amendment is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing description of the Seventh Sales Agreement Amendment and the transactions contemplated thereby is qualified in its entirety by reference to Exhibit 1.1.

The Company is also filing this Current Report on Form 8-K to provide a legal opinion regarding the validity of the Shares to be issued and sold in the Offering, which opinion is attached hereto as Exhibit 5.1, and is incorporated herein by reference.

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

Forward Looking Statements Disclaimer

This Current Report on Form 8-K and the information incorporated herein contains “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements

typically are identified by use of terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations of the Company’s future performance, taking into account all information currently available to the Company. The Company cannot assure you that actual results will not vary from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements are subject to numerous possible events, factors and conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and not all of which are known to the Company, including, without limitation, market conditions and new laws and regulations and those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, which has been filed with the SEC. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible to predict those events or how they may affect the Company or its stockholders. Except as required by law, the Company is not obligated to, and does not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except a required by law.

Item 9.01.	Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No.	Description
1.1	Amendment No. 7, dated January28, 2026, by and among ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. and ARMOUR Capital Management LP, and BUCKLER Securities LLC, B. Riley Securities, Inc., BTIG, LLC, Citizens JMP Securities, LLC,JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.,StockBlock Securities LLC, and Huntington Securities, Inc.
5.1	Opinion of Holland & Knight LLP
23.1	Consent of Holland & Knight LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Dated: January 28, 2026

ARMOUR RESIDENTIAL REIT, INC.
By:	/s/ Gordon M. Harper
Name:	Gordon M. Harper
Title:	Chief Financial Officer

Document

Exhibit 1.1

Execution Version

AMENDMENT NO. 7 TO EQUITY SALES AGREEMENT

January 28, 2026

BUCKLER Securities LLC

5 Greenwich Office Park, Suite 450

Greenwich, CT 06831

B. Riley Securities, Inc.

299 Park Avenue, 21st Floor

New York, New York 10171

BTIG, LLC

350 Bush Street, 9th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94104

Citizens JMP Securities, LLC

101 California Street, Suite 1700

San Francisco, CA 94111

Huntington Securities, Inc.

41 South High Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215

JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC

325 Hudson St., 6th Floor

New York, NY 10013

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.

640 5th Ave., 4th Floor

New York, NY 10019

StockBlock Securities LLC

600 Lexington Avenue, 32nd Floor

New York, New York 10022

Ladies and Gentlemen:

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), together with ARMOUR Capital Management LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Manager”) and BUCKLER Securities LLC, B. Riley Securities, Inc., BTIG, LLC, Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and StockBlock Securities LLC (each an “Original Agent,” and collectively, the “Original Agents”), are parties to that certain Equity Sales Agreement dated July 26, 2023 as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Equity Sales Agreement dated October 25, 2023, Amendment No. 2 to Equity Sales Agreement dated June 20, 2024, Amendment No. 3 to Equity Sales Agreement dated August 23, 2024, Amendment No. 4 to Equity Sales Agreement dated September 20, 2024, Amendment No. 5 dated February 13, 2025 and Amendment No. 6 dated July 25, 2025 (together, the “Original Agreement”). The Original Agents, together with Huntington Securities,

Inc. (“Huntington”), are herein referred to as the “Agents”. All capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Original Agreement. The Company, Manager and the Agents desire to amend the Original Agreement as set forth in this Amendment No. 7 thereto (this “Amendment”) as follows:

1.The first paragraph of the Original Agreement is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

“ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), that is

externally managed by ARMOUR Capital Management LP, a Delaware limited

partnership (the “Manager”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein,

to issue and sell from time to time to or through one or more of BUCKLER Securities

LLC (“BUCKLER”), B. Riley Securities, Inc. (“B. Riley Securities”), BTIG, LLC

(“BTIG”), Citizens JMP Securities LLC (“Citizens Capital Markets”), Huntington

Securities, Inc. (“Huntington”), JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC (“Jones”),

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. (“Ladenburg”) and StockBlock Securities LLC

(“StockBlock”; and together with BUCKLER, B. Riley Securities, BTIG, Citizens

Capital Markets, Huntington, Jones and Ladenburg, the “Agents”), shares (the “Shares”)

of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”), in an

aggregate amount up to 15,000,000 Shares, on the terms set forth in this agreement (the

“Agreement”).”

2.Section 10 of the Original Agreement is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

“All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed

to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of

telecommunication. Notices to the Agents shall be directed to BUCKLER Securities

LLC, 5 Greenwich Office Park, Suite 450, Greenwich, CT 06831, Attention: Rich

Misiano; Citizens JMP Securities LLC, 600 Montgomery, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA

94111, Attn.: Trading (Aidan Whitehead (awhitehead@jmpsecurities.com); Lee Weiner

(lweiner@jmpsecurities.com); Compliance (Ken Murai, KMurai@jmpsecurities.com);

Legal (Walter Conroy (wconroy@jmpsecurities.com)); Banking (Jorge Solares-

Parkhurst, JSolares@jmpsecurities.com) and Tyler Gallen, TGallen@jmpsecurities.com);

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., 640 5th Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10019, Attn:

Barry Steiner, Nicholas Stergis; B. Riley Securities, Inc., 299 Park Avenue, New York,

NY 10171, Attn: General Counsel (atmdesk@brileyfin.com); JonesTrading Institutional

Services LLC, 880 Island Park Drive, 3rd Floor, Daniel Island, SC 29492, Attn: Burke

Cook (burke@jonestrading.com); StockBlock Securities LLC, 600 Lexington Avenue,

32nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, Attn: David Dinkin, (ATM@stockblock.com),

(dd@stockblock.com); BTIG, LLC, 65 East 55th Street, New York, NY 10022, Attn:

Equity Capital Markets (BTIGUSATMTrading@btig.com), Tosh Chandra

(tchandra@btig.com) and Stephen Nociti (snociti@btig.com), with a copy which shall

not constitute notice to General Counsel (IBLegal@btig.com) and Chief Compliance

Officer (BTIGcompliance@btig.com); Huntington Securities, Inc., 41 South High Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215, Attention: Brian Stauffer (brian.stauffer@huntington.com) &

Peter Dippolito (peter.dippolito@huntington.com) with copy to

ecm_corpservicesexecution@huntington.com; in each case, with a copy to Duane Morris

LLP, 22 Vanderbilt, 335 Madison Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10017-4669,

Attention: Dean M. Colucci, Email: dmcolucci@duanemorris.com, and notices to the

Company and the Manager shall be directed to each at 3001 Ocean Drive, Suite 201,

Vero Beach, FL 32963, Attention: Chief Financial Officer, with a copy to Holland &

Knight LLP, 701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 3300, Miami, FL 33131, Attention: Bradley D.

Houser, Esq.”

3.Except as specifically set forth herein, all other provisions of the Original Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

4.From and after the date hereof, Huntington shall be considered to be an Agent under the Original Agreement, as amended hereby, and Huntington agrees to be bound by the terms of the Original Agreement, as amended hereby.

5.This Amendment together with the Original Agreement (including all exhibits attached hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Amendment nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company, Manager and the Agents. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Amendment. All references in the Original Agreement to the “Agreement” shall mean the Original Agreement as amended by this Amendment; provided, however, that all references to “date of this Agreement” in the Original Agreement shall continue to refer to the date of the Original Agreement.

6.EACH OF THE COMPANY (ON ITS BEHALF AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ON BEHALF OF ITS STOCKHOLDERS AND AFFILIATES), THE MANAGER AND THE AGENTS HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AMENDMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

7.THIS AMENDMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AMENDMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF, THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS.

8.Each of the Company, the Manager and the Agents agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Amendment or the transactions contemplated hereby (“Related Proceedings”) shall be instituted in (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan or (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any Specified Court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-

exclusive) of the Specified Courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to a party’s address set forth in Section 10 of the Original Agreement, as amended by this Amendment, shall be effective service of process upon such party for any suit, action or proceeding brought in any Specified Court. Each of the Company, the Manager and the Agents irrevocably and unconditionally waives any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waives and agrees not to plead or claim in any Specified Court that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any Specified Court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. This Amendment may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed amendment by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission or electronic transmission (e.g., PDF).

9.This Amendment may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed amendment by one party to the other may be made by facsimile transmission or electronic transmission (e.g., PDF).

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]

If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company, the Manager and the Agents, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this Amendment shall constitute a binding amendment to the Original Agreement between the Company, the Manager and the Agents.

Very truly yours,

BUCKLER SECURITIES LLC

By: /s/ Richard Misiano________________

Name: Richard Misiano

Title: CEO

B. RILEY SECURITIES, INC.

By: /s/ Jimmy Baker ________________

Name: Jimmy Baker

Title: Co-CEO

BTIG, LLC

By: /s/ Tosh Chandra________________

Name: Tosh Chandra

Title: Managing Director

CITIZENS JMP SECURITIES, LLC

By: /s/ Mark Timperman________________

Name: Mark Timperman

Title: Managing Director

HUNTINGTON SECURITIES, INC.

By: /s/ Peter Dippolito________________

Name: Peter Dippolito

Title: Head of Equity Capital Markets

JONESTRADING INSTITUTIONAL

SERVICES LLC

By: /s/ Burke Cook________________

Name: Burke Cook

Title: General Counsel & Secretary

LADENBURG THALMANN & CO. INC.

By: /s/ Dan Blood________________

Name: Dan Blood

Title: Co-Head of Investment Banking, Head of FIG

STOCKBLOCK SECURITIES LLC

By: /s/ David W. Dinkin ________________

Name: David W. Dinkin

Title: President

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 7 to Equity Sales Agreement]

ACCEPTED as of the date

first-above written:

ARMOUR RESIDENTIAL REIT, INC.

By:_____/s/ Gordon M. Harper___________

Name: Gordon M. Harper

Title: Chief Financial Officer

ARMOUR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP

By:_____/s/ Gordon M. Harper___________

Name: Gordon M. Harper

Title: Chief Financial Officer

[Signature Page to Amendment No. 7 to Equity Sales Agreement]

Document

Exhibit 5.1

Holland & Knight

701 Brickell Avenue, Suite 3300 | Miami, FL 33131 | T 305.374.8500 | F 305.789.7799

Holland & Knight LLP | www.hklaw.com

January 28, 2026

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc.

3001 Ocean Drive, Suite 201

Vero Beach, Florida 32963

Re: Shelf Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-278327)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Reference is made to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-278327) (the “Registration Statement”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on March 28, 2024 by ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (the “Company”) pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). We are rendering this opinion letter in connection with the filing of a prospectus supplement dated January 28, 2026 (the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Prospectus Supplement relates to the offering by the Company of up to 23,244,198 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company's common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), in an “at-the-market” offering, pursuant to an Equity Sales Agreement dated July 26, 2023, as amended by Amendment No. 1 dated October 25, 2023, as further amended by Amendment No. 2 dated June 20, 2024, as further amended by Amendment No. 3 dated August 23, 2024, as further amended by Amendment No. 4 dated September 20, 2024, as further amended by Amendment No. 5, dated February 13, 2025, as further amended by Amendment No. 6, dated July 25, 2025, as further amended by Amendment No. 7, dated January 28, 2026, which Shares are covered by the Registration Statement. We understand that the Shares are to be offered and sold in the manner set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement.

We have acted as your counsel in connection with the preparation of the Prospectus Supplement. We are familiar with the proceedings taken by the Board of Directors of the Company in connection with the authorization, issuance and sale of the Shares. We have examined all such documents as we have considered necessary in order to enable us to render this opinion letter, including, but not limited to, (i) the Registration Statement, (ii) the Base Prospectus, dated March 28, 2024, included with the Registration Statement (the “Prospectus”), (iii) the Prospectus Supplement, (iv) the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, as amended, (v) the Company’s Bylaws, as amended, (vi) certain resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company, the independent members of the Board of Directors of the Company and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company, (vii) corporate records and instruments, (viii) a specimen certificate representing the Shares, and (ix) such laws and regulations as we have deemed necessary for the purposes of rendering the opinion set forth herein. In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of and conformity to originals of such documents that have been presented to us as duplicates or certified or conformed copies, the accuracy, completeness and authenticity of originals, the due execution and delivery of all documents (except that no such assumption is made as to the Company) where due execution and delivery are a prerequisite to the effectiveness thereof, and that the Shares will be issued against payment of valid consideration under applicable law. As to any facts material to the opinion expressed herein, which were not independently established or verified, we have relied, to the extent we have deemed reasonably appropriate, upon statements and representations or certificates of officers or directors of the Company.

Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered by the Company against payment therefor as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

The opinion expressed herein is limited to the corporate laws of the State of Maryland and we express no opinion as to the effect on the matters covered by the laws of any other jurisdiction. We assume no obligation to supplement this opinion letter if any applicable law changes after the date hereof or if we become aware of any fact that may change the opinion expressed herein after the date hereof.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as part of the Registration Statement and to the reference of our firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus Supplement. In giving such consent, we do not

hereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission.

Very truly yours,

/s/ HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP

HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP