Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT (NYSE: EARN) ("we", "us," or
"our") today reported financial results for the quarter ended
December 31, 2023.
Highlights
- Net income (loss) of $12.4 million, or $0.75 per share.
- Adjusted Distributable Earnings1 of $4.6 million, or $0.27 per
share.
- Book value of $7.32 per share as of December 31, 2023, which
includes the effects of dividends of $0.24 per share for the
quarter.
- Net interest margin2 of 2.02% on Agency, 6.28% on credit, and
2.19% overall.
- Weighted average constant prepayment rate ("CPR") for the
fixed-rate Agency specified pool portfolio of 6.83.
- Net mortgage assets-to-equity ratio of 6.5:14 as of December
31, 2023.
- CLO portfolio grew to $17.4 million as of December 31,
2023.
- Capital allocation5 as of December 31, 2023: 89%
mortgage-related securities, 11% corporate CLOs.
- Dividend yield of 16.0% based on the March 5, 2024 closing
stock price of $5.99, and monthly dividend of $0.08 per common
share declared on February 7, 2024.
- Debt-to-equity ratio of 5.4:1 as of December 31, 2023; adjusted
for unsettled purchases and sales, the debt-to-equity ratio as of
December 31, 2023 was 5.3:1.
- Cash and cash equivalents of $38.5 million as of December 31,
2023, in addition to other unencumbered assets of $22.9
million.
Fourth Quarter 2023 Results
"During the fourth quarter, Ellington Residential generated net
income of $0.75 per share and a non-annualized economic return of
7.7%, while Adjusted Distributable Earnings grew to $0.27 per share
and more than covered our dividend," said Laurence Penn, Chief
Executive Officer and President. "During the market selloff in
October, we avoided forced asset sales and preserved our earnings
power, which enabled us to fully participate in the subsequent
market recovery.
"After a tumultuous start to the fourth quarter, which saw U.S.
Treasury yields rise to 15-year highs and yield spreads widen
sharply, markets subsequently rallied through year end in
anticipation of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s hiking
cycle. Overall for the quarter, Agency RMBS—especially lower and
intermediate coupons where EARN's portfolio was
concentrated—generally outperformed interest rate swaps and U.S.
Treasury securities, which are our primary hedging instruments.
"In the corporate CLO market, after experiencing similar
widening in October, credit spreads tightened through year end with
an economic 'soft landing' narrative permeating the market. EARN's
growing CLO portfolio also generated strong returns during the
quarter. Our CLO portfolio grew by $13.6 million during the fourth
quarter, as we continued to rotate more of our investment capital
from RMBS to CLOs. This portfolio rotation has also contributed to
our lower overall leverage ratios given that we employ much less
leverage on our CLO investments. Including investment activity
following quarter end, our CLO portfolio now stands at
approximately $30 million.
"In a year of elevated interest rate and yield spread volatility
that saw the FDIC seize and then sell $60+ billion of Agency MBS,
Agency RMBS ended 2023 on a high note and actually outperformed
U.S. Treasuries and interest rate swaps on a duration-adjusted
basis for the year. Now, with markets expecting eventual interest
rate cuts from here but yield spreads still wide on an historical
basis, Agency RMBS is attracting incremental demand from investors,
albeit tempered by uncertainty around the timing of future cuts.
For CLOs, despite their strong finish to 2023, some subsectors have
actually lagged the broader corporate bond rally and so should have
further room to appreciate. We also expect performance dispersion
in the CLO market to persist in 2024, which should continue to
create investment opportunities for EARN."
____________________
1
Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a
non-GAAP financial measure. See "Reconciliation of Adjusted
Distributable Earnings to Net Income (Loss)" below for an
explanation regarding the calculation of Adjusted Distributable
Earnings.
2
Net interest margin of a group of assets
represents the weighted average asset yield less the weighted
average cost of borrowings secured by those assets (including the
effect of net interest income (expense) related to U.S. Treasury
securities and actual and accrued payments on interest rate swaps
used to hedge such borrowings); net interest margin excludes the
effect of the Catch-up Amortization Adjustment.
3
Excludes recent purchases of fixed rate
Agency specified pools with no prepayment history.
4
We define our net mortgage
assets-to-equity ratio as the net aggregate market value of our
mortgage-backed securities (including the underlying market values
of our long and short TBA positions) divided by shareholder's
equity attributable to our mortgage-related strategies. As of
December 31, 2023 the market value of our mortgage-backed
securities and our net long TBA position was $756.1 million and
$36.7 million, respectively, and shareholders' equity attributable
to our mortgage related strategies was $121.8 million.
5
Percentages shown are of net assets, as
opposed to gross assets, deployed in each strategy.
Financial Results
The following table summarizes our portfolio of long
investments(1) as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023:
December 31, 2023
September 30, 2023
($ in thousands)
Current Principal
Fair Value
Average Price(2)
Cost
Average Cost(2)
Current Principal
Fair Value
Average Price(2)
Cost
Average Cost(2)
Agency Portfolio:
Agency RMBS(3)
15-year fixed-rate mortgages
$
28,647
$
27,847
97.21
$
28,765
100.41
$
34,975
$
32,600
93.21
$
34,800
99.50
20-year fixed-rate mortgages
8,524
7,863
92.25
9,033
105.97
10,441
9,074
86.91
11,083
106.15
30-year fixed-rate mortgages
697,510
670,294
96.10
682,379
97.83
800,500
726,345
90.74
786,592
98.26
ARMs
7,127
7,119
99.89
8,060
113.09
7,207
7,154
99.26
7,983
110.77
Reverse mortgages
14,406
14,874
103.25
16,589
115.15
15,023
15,335
102.08
17,049
113.49
Total Agency RMBS
756,214
727,997
96.27
744,826
98.49
868,146
790,508
91.06
857,507
98.77
Agency IOs
n/a
7,415
n/a
6,607
n/a
n/a
7,845
n/a
6,967
n/a
Total Agency
735,412
751,433
798,353
864,474
Credit Portfolio:
CLO Notes
16,876
14,491
85.87
14,441
85.57
4,500
3,824
84.98
3,823
84.95
CLO Equity
n/a
2,926
n/a
2,947
n/a
—
—
—
—
—
Non-Agency RMBS(3)
9,953
9,409
94.53
8,189
82.28
14,752
12,825
86.94
12,316
83.49
Non-Agency IOs
n/a
11,310
n/a
8,700
n/a
n/a
11,540
n/a
8,884
n/a
Total Credit
38,136
34,277
28,189
25,023
Total
$
773,548
$
785,710
$
826,542
$
889,497
(1)
Excludes U.S. Treasury securities and
preferred equity securities.
(2)
Expressed as a percentage of current
principal balance.
(3)
Excludes IOs.
The size of our Agency RMBS holdings decreased by 8% to $728.0
million as of December 31, 2023, compared to $790.5 million as of
September 30, 2023, as net sales and paydowns exceeded net gains.
Similarly, our aggregate holdings of interest-only securities and
non-Agency RMBS decreased by 13% during the quarter. Over the same
period, we continued to rotate investment capital to CLOs,
increasing our CLO holdings more than fourfold to $17.4 million as
of December 31, 2023, compared to $3.8 million as of September 30,
2023. Our Agency RMBS portfolio turnover was 25% for the
quarter.
Our debt-to-equity ratio, adjusted for unsettled purchases and
sales, decreased to 5.3:1 as of December 31, 2023, as compared to
7.3:1 as of September 30, 2023. The decline was primarily due to a
decrease in borrowings on our smaller Agency RMBS portfolio and
significantly higher shareholders' equity, partially offset by a
small increase in borrowings on our CLO portfolio. Similarly, our
net mortgage assets-to-equity ratio decreased to 6.5:1 from 7.2:1
over the same time period, despite having a net long TBA position
as of December 31, 2023 as compared to a net short TBA position as
of September 30, 2023.
In October, interest rates and volatility increased, which drove
yield spreads wider in most fixed income sectors, including Agency
RMBS. Markets then reversed course, however, with interest rates
and volatility declining, and yield spreads tightening, through
year end. Overall for the fourth quarter, Agency RMBS outperformed
U.S. Treasury securities and interest rate swaps, with lower and
intermediate coupon RMBS exhibiting the most pronounced
outperformance. As a result, net gains on our Agency RMBS (which
were concentrated in those coupons) and positive net interest
income significantly exceeded net losses on our hedges, driving
strong performance from our Agency RMBS portfolio for the
quarter.
Average pay-ups on our specified pool portfolio decreased
slightly to 1.01% as of December 31, 2023, as compared to 1.02% as
of September 30, 2023. During the quarter, we continued to hedge
interest rate risk, primarily through the use of interest rate
swaps. We ended the quarter with a net long TBA position on a
notional basis, but a net short TBA position as measured by 10-year
equivalents. We may also selectively hedge our corporate CLO and/or
non-Agency RMBS investments; as of December 31, 2023, we had a
small credit hedge position in place.
Our larger corporate CLO portfolio also contributed positively
to our quarterly results, driven by net interest income and net
gains to our quarterly results. Similar to Agency RMBS, yield
spreads on most CLOs widened in October before tightening in
November and December, and finished the quarter tighter
overall.
Additionally, our non-Agency RMBS portfolio and interest-only
securities also generated positive results for the quarter, driven
by net interest income and net gains, as yield spreads followed a
similar pattern during the quarter.
We intend to continue increasing our allocation to corporate
CLOs and/or non-Agency RMBS based on market opportunities.
The net interest margin on our Agency portfolio increased
quarter over quarter, driven by higher asset yields and a lower
cost of funds, as we continued to benefit from positive carry on
our interest rate swaps where we receive a higher floating rate and
pay a lower fixed rate. The net interest margin on our credit
portfolio also increased, with our larger CLO holdings boosting our
asset yields. The net interest margin (excluding the Catch-up
Amortization Adjustment) on our Agency and credit portfolios
increased to 2.02% and 6.28% in the fourth quarter, respectively,
as compared to 1.26% and 4.55% in the prior quarter. Expanding net
interest margins also drove a sequential increase in our Adjusted
Distributable Earnings.
About Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT
Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT is a real estate investment
trust that specializes in acquiring, investing in, and managing
residential mortgage-related, real estate-related, and other assets
including corporate CLOs, with a primary focus on residential
mortgage-backed securities for which the principal and interest
payments are guaranteed by a U.S. government Agency or a U.S.
government-sponsored enterprise. Ellington Residential Mortgage
REIT is externally managed and advised by Ellington Residential
Mortgage Management LLC, an affiliate of Ellington Management
Group, L.L.C.
Conference Call
We will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on
Thursday, March 7, 2024, to discuss its financial results for the
quarter ended December 31, 2023. To participate in the event by
telephone, please dial (800) 579-2543 at least 10 minutes prior to
the start time and reference the conference ID: EARNQ423.
International callers should dial (785) 424-1789 and reference the
same conference ID. The conference call will also be webcast live
over the Internet and can be accessed via the "For Our
Shareholders" section of our web site at www.earnreit.com. To
listen to the live webcast, please visit www.earnreit.com at least
15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download,
and install necessary audio software. In connection with the
release of these financial results, we also posted an investor
presentation, that will accompany the conference call, on our
website at www.earnreit.com under "For
Investors—Presentations."
A dial-in replay of the conference call will be available on
Thursday, March 7, 2024, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
through Thursday, March 14, 2024 at approximately 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time. To access this replay, please dial (800) 934-3033.
International callers should dial (402) 220-1144. A replay of the
conference call will also be archived on our web site at
www.earnreit.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve
numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from
our beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections and,
consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking
statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking
statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations
of our future operations, business strategies, performance,
financial condition, liquidity and prospects, taking into account
information currently available to us. These beliefs, assumptions,
and expectations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties
and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not
all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business,
financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and
strategies may vary materially from those expressed or implied in
our forward-looking statements or from our beliefs, expectations,
estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on
these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.
Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be
identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "project," "plan," "continue," "intend," "should,"
"would," "could," "goal," "objective," "will," "may," "seek," or
similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to
strategy, plans, or intentions. Examples of forward-looking
statements in this press release include, without limitation, our
beliefs regarding the current economic and investment environment,
our ability to implement its investment and hedging strategies, our
future prospects and the protection of our net interest margin from
prepayments, volatility and its impact on us, the performance of
our investment and hedging strategies, our exposure to prepayment
risk in our Agency portfolio, and statements regarding the drivers
of our returns. The following factors are examples of those that
could cause actual results to vary from those stated or implied by
our forward-looking statements: changes in interest rates and the
market value of our investments, market volatility, changes in
mortgage default rates and prepayment rates, our ability to borrow
to finance its assets, changes in government regulations affecting
our business, our ability to maintain its exclusion from
registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, our ability
to maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust, or
"REIT," and other changes in market conditions and economic trends,
such as changes to fiscal or monetary policy, heightened inflation,
slower growth or recession, and currency fluctuations. Furthermore,
as stated above, forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties, including, among other things, those described
under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be
accessed through the link to our SEC filings under "For Our
Shareholders" on our website (at www.earnreit.com) or at the SEC's
website (www.sec.gov). Other risks, uncertainties, and factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected or implied may be described from time to time in reports
we file with the SEC, including reports on Forms 10-Q, 10-K and
8-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
ELLINGTON RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE
REIT
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF
OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
Three-Month Period
Ended
Year Ended
December 31, 2023
September 30,
2023
December 31, 2023
(In thousands except share amounts and per
share amounts)
INTEREST INCOME (EXPENSE)
Interest income
$
11,888
$
11,253
$
42,549
Interest expense
(11,511
)
(12,349
)
(45,256
)
Total net interest income
(expense)
377
(1,096
)
(2,707
)
EXPENSES
Management fees to affiliate
512
420
1,804
Professional fees
193
290
1,132
Compensation expense
190
177
735
Insurance expense
93
95
382
Other operating expenses
386
374
1,482
Total expenses
1,374
1,356
5,535
OTHER INCOME (LOSS)
Net realized gains (losses) on
securities
(11,825
)
(19,572
)
(58,103
)
Net realized gains (losses) on financial
derivatives
1,440
1,152
28,562
Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on
securities
50,930
(15,824
)
61,274
Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on
financial derivatives
(27,109
)
25,276
(18,932
)
Total other income (loss)
13,436
(8,968
)
12,801
NET INCOME (LOSS)
$
12,439
$
(11,420
)
$
4,559
NET INCOME (LOSS) PER COMMON
SHARE:
Basic and Diluted
$
0.75
$
(0.75
)
$
0.31
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES
OUTSTANDING
16,662,407
15,199,837
14,875,314
CASH DIVIDENDS PER SHARE:
Dividends declared
$
0.24
$
0.24
$
0.96
ELLINGTON RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE
REIT
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE
SHEET
(UNAUDITED)
As of
December 31,
2023
September 30, 2023
December 31,
2022(1)(2)
(In thousands except share amounts and per
share amounts)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
$
38,533
$
39,996
$
34,816
Securities, at fair value
773,548
836,275
893,509
Due from brokers
3,245
27,900
18,824
Financial derivatives–assets, at fair
value
74,279
100,948
68,770
Reverse repurchase agreements
—
37,103
499
Receivable for securities sold
51,132
16,667
33,452
Interest receivable
4,522
4,995
3,326
Other assets
431
552
436
Total Assets
$
945,690
$
1,064,436
$
1,053,632
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS'
EQUITY
LIABILITIES
Repurchase agreements
$
729,543
$
811,180
$
842,455
Payable for securities purchased
12,139
8,220
42,199
Due to brokers
54,476
71,202
45,666
Financial derivatives–liabilities, at fair
value
7,329
8,840
3,119
U.S. Treasury securities sold short, at
fair value
—
46,326
498
Dividend payable
1,488
1,270
1,070
Accrued expenses
1,153
1,454
1,097
Management fee payable to affiliate
513
420
423
Interest payable
2,811
4,066
4,696
Total Liabilities
809,452
952,978
941,223
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Preferred shares, par value $0.01 per
share, 100,000,000 shares authorized; (0 shares issued and
outstanding, respectively)
—
—
—
Common shares, par value $0.01 per share,
500,000,000 shares authorized; (18,601,464, 15,870,141, and
13,377,840 shares issued and outstanding, respectively)(3)
186
159
134
Additional paid-in-capital
274,698
258,258
240,940
Accumulated deficit
(138,646
)
(146,959
)
(128,665
)
Total Shareholders' Equity
136,238
111,458
112,409
Total Liabilities and Shareholders'
Equity
$
945,690
$
1,064,436
$
1,053,632
SUPPLEMENTAL PER SHARE
INFORMATION
Book Value Per Share
$
7.32
$
7.02
$
8.40
(1)
Derived from audited financial statements
as of December 31, 2022.
(2)
Conformed to current period
presentation.
(3)
Common shares issued and outstanding at
December 31, 2023, includes 2,720,548 common shares issued during
the fourth quarter under our at-the-market common share offering
program.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings to Net Income
(Loss)
We calculate Adjusted Distributable Earnings as net income
(loss), excluding realized and change in net unrealized gains and
(losses) on securities and financial derivatives, and excluding
other income or loss items that are of a non-recurring nature, if
any. Adjusted Distributable Earnings includes net realized and
change in net unrealized gains (losses) associated with periodic
settlements on interest rate swaps. Adjusted Distributable Earnings
also excludes the effect of the Catch-up Amortization Adjustment on
interest income. The Catch-up Amortization Adjustment is a
quarterly adjustment to premium amortization or discount accretion
triggered by changes in actual and projected prepayments on our
Agency RMBS (accompanied by a corresponding offsetting adjustment
to realized and unrealized gains and losses). The adjustment is
calculated as of the beginning of each quarter based on our
then-current assumptions about cashflows and prepayments, and can
vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a supplemental non-GAAP
financial measure. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted
Distributable Earnings provides information useful to investors,
because: (i) we believe that it is a useful indicator of both
current and projected long-term financial performance, in that it
excludes the impact of certain current-period earnings components
that we believe are less useful in forecasting long-term
performance and dividend-paying ability; (ii) we use it to evaluate
the effective net yield provided by our portfolio, after the
effects of financial leverage; and (iii), we believe that
presenting Adjusted Distributable Earnings assists investors in
measuring and evaluating our operating performance, and comparing
our operating performance to that of our residential mortgage REIT
peers. Our calculation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings may
differ from the calculation of similarly titled non-GAAP financial
measures by our peers, with the result that these non-GAAP
financial measures might not be directly comparable; adjusted
Distributable Earnings excludes certain items, such as most
realized and unrealized gains and losses, that may impact the
amount of cash that is actually available for distribution.
In addition, because Adjusted Distributable Earnings is an
incomplete measure of our financial results and differs from net
income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, it should be
considered supplementary to, and not as a substitute for, net
income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Furthermore, Adjusted Distributable Earnings is different than
REIT taxable income. As a result, the determination of whether we
have met the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our annual
REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments) to our
shareholders, in order to maintain qualification as a REIT, is not
based on whether we have distributed 90% of our Adjusted
Distributable Earnings.
In setting our dividends, our Board of Trustees considers our
earnings, liquidity, financial condition, REIT distribution
requirements, and financial covenants, along with other factors
that the Board of Trustees may deem relevant from time to time.
The following table reconciles, for the three-month periods
ended December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023, our Adjusted
Distributable Earnings to the line on our Consolidated Statement of
Operations entitled Net Income (Loss), which we believe is the most
directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:
Three-Month Period
Ended
(In thousands except share amounts and per
share amounts)
December 31, 2023
September 30, 2023
Net Income (Loss)
$
12,439
$
(11,420
)
Adjustments:
Net realized (gains) losses on
securities
11,825
19,572
Change in net unrealized (gains) losses on
securities
(50,930
)
15,824
Net realized (gains) losses on financial
derivatives
(1,440
)
(1,152
)
Change in net unrealized (gains) losses on
financial derivatives
27,109
(25,276
)
Net realized gains (losses) on periodic
settlements of interest rate swaps
880
796
Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on
accrued periodic settlements of interest rate swaps
5,228
4,913
Non-recurring expenses
13
28
Negative (positive) component of interest
income represented by Catch-up Amortization Adjustment
(566
)
(46
)
Subtotal
(7,881
)
14,659
Adjusted Distributable Earnings
$
4,558
$
3,239
Weighted Average Shares
Outstanding
16,662,407
15,199,837
Adjusted Distributable Earnings Per
Share
$
0.27
$
0.21
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240306220877/en/
Investors: Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT Investor
Relations (203) 409-3773 info@earnreit.com or Media: Amanda
Shpiner/Sara Widmann Gasthalter & Co. for Ellington Residential
Mortgage REIT (212) 257-4170 Ellington@gasthalter.com
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