Chimera Investment (NYSE:CIM) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Chimera Investment (NYSE:CIM) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. Chimera Investment had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $32.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.35 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Chimera Investment’s conference call:

• HomeXpress origination grew 39% YoY to $884 million with EBITDA of $11.4 million (annualized ROE 16.8%), supported by increased warehouse capacity and tech/AI efficiency gains.
• Management redeemed eight securitizations, sold $1.2 billion of loans and released ~$195 million of capital that was redeployed into Agency RMBS, which management estimates could add roughly $15 million of annual earnings.
• First-quarter earnings available for distribution were $0.54 per share, covering the $0.45 dividend by ~1.2x and continuing a multi-quarter track record of EAD coverage while the dividend has been raised 36% over the past 10 quarters.
• GAAP results showed a net loss of about $65 million and GAAP book value per share fell 6.9% to $18.34 (management says ~two?thirds of the decline was from securitization call mechanics and excluding that the decline was ~2.5%).
• Liquidity and positioning: the company reports several hundred million in cash/unencumbered assets, total leverage of 5.2x (recourse 2.9x), a larger Agency RMBS sleeve (21%), continued hedging/TBA activity, and plans to launch a HomeX securitization program later this year.

Chimera Investment Stock Performance

CIM stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $13.65. 778,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,296. Chimera Investment has a 12 month low of $11.67 and a 12 month high of $14.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -17.06 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06.

Chimera Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Chimera Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. Chimera Investment’s dividend payout ratio is -225.00%.

Institutional Trading of Chimera Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Chimera Investment by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Chimera Investment by 59.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 2,857 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Chimera Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Chimera Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Chimera Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $154,000. 48.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CIM. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chimera Investment from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chimera Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chimera Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

About Chimera Investment

Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that specializes in investing in residential mortgage assets. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, whole loan residential mortgages and other mortgage-related assets. As a REIT, Chimera Investment aims to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its focus on high-quality collateral and disciplined risk management.

The firm’s core business activities include identifying and acquiring portfolios of residential mortgage loans and securities from financial institutions and in the secondary market.