Updated on March 31st, 2025 by Felix Martinez
ARMOUR Residential REIT Inc. (ARR) is a mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust (mREIT) that offers an appealing 19% dividend yield, making it a high dividend stock.
ARMOUR Residential also pays its dividends monthly, which is rare. The vast majority of companies that pay dividends pay them quarterly or semi-annually.
There are currently over 76 monthly dividend stocks in our coverage universe. You can download our full list of 76 monthly dividend stocks (along with price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields, and payout ratios) by clicking on the link below:
ARMOUR Residential’s high dividend yield and monthly dividend payments make it an intriguing stock for investors, even though its dividend payments have declined over the years.
As with many high-dividend stocks yielding over 10%, the sustainability of the dividend is in question. This article will analyze the investment prospects of ARMOUR Residential.
Business Overview
As an mREIT, ARMOUR Residential invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, including those issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government-sponsored entities (GSE) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also includes Ginnie Mae, the Government National Mortgage Administration’s issued or guaranteed securities backed by fixed-rate, hybrid adjustable-rate, and adjustable-rate home loans.
It also includes unsecured notes and bonds issued by the GSE and the United States treasuries, money market instruments, and non-GSE or government agency-backed securities.
The mortgage REIT, founded in 2008 and based in Vero Beach, Florida, seeks to create shareholder value through careful investment and risk management practices that produce current yield and superior risk-adjusted returns over the long term.
With a market cap of approximately $1.5 billion and annual revenue of $150 million, it is a significant national player in residential investment.
Source: Investor presentation
The trust makes money by raising capital by issuing debt, preferred equity, and common equity and then reinvesting the proceeds into higher-yielding debt instruments.
The spread (i.e., the difference between the cost of capital and the return on capital) is then largely returned to common shareholders via dividend payments. However, the trust often retains a little bit of the profits to reinvest in the business.
Growth Prospects
Recent results at ARMOUR have been mixed. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the trust, but it could meet all of its margin calls and maintain access to repurchase financing.
ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (ARR) reported a Q4 2024 GAAP net loss of $49.4M ($0.83 per share) but had distributable earnings of $46.5M ($0.78 per share). Net interest income was $12.7M, with a 1.53% economic net interest spread. The company raised $136.2M by issuing 7.2M common shares and paid $0.72 per share in dividends for the quarter.
As of December 31, 2024, the book value per share was $19.07, down from $20.76 in Q3. Liquidity was $608M, with a $12.4B agency MBS portfolio. The debt-to-equity ratio was 7.87:1, and the economic return for Q4 was -4.67 %. Interest rate swap contracts totaled $7.2B.
By February 10, 2025, its liquidity exceeded $802M, and its securities portfolio reached $14.7B. The company raised $259M through stock issuance. The debt-to-equity ratio was 6.59:1, with an implied leverage of 7.94:1. Book value per share dropped from $22.54 in 2023 to $19.07 in 2024 due to market fluctuations.
Source: Investor presentation
ARMOUR’s cash flow has been volatile since its inception in 2008, but this is to be expected with all mREITs. Of late, declining spreads have hurt earnings while the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak disrupted the business model, leading to a sharp decline in cash flow per share, as well as a steep dividend cut. Fortunately, ARMOUR is now seeing a measure of recovery and should continue to see that recovery manifest itself in the coming quarters and years. Moving forward, we expect the company to grow slowly, though it will likely take a long time for it to rebuild to previous levels of book value and earnings power.
Risk Considerations
While there have certainly been some positive developments at work for ARMOUR, there are still several risks to be concerned about. ARMOUR’s quality metrics have been volatile, given the trust’s performance as rates have moved around over the years. Gross margins have moved down since short–term rates began to rise meaningfully a couple of years ago, although it appears most of that damage has been done.
Balance sheet leverage had been moving down slightly, but it saw an uptick again this past quarter. However, we do not forecast a significant movement in either direction from this point. Interest coverage has declined with spreads but also appears to have stabilized, so we are somewhat optimistic moving forward while keeping in mind the significant potential for volatility.
ARMOUR was facing headwinds from the coronavirus outbreak and an overall economic downturn. As a result, a steep dividend cut was necessary to preserve the balance sheet and allow the REIT to reposition itself for survival and future growth.
The annualized dividend payout of $2.88 per share will represent 81% of the company’s EPS (we estimate 2025 EPS of $3.55). This is a concern as the payout ratio is high, and the dividend could be at risk of further reduction if EPS falls or stays at this level for too long.
For example, if the economy were to go into recession, mortgage defaults could surge, leading to steep losses. Given the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, this risk is relevant for investors.
Final Thoughts
ARMOUR Residential’s high dividend yield and monthly dividend payments make it stand out to high-yield dividend investors. However, we remain cautious on the stock, especially in light of the multiple dividend cuts in recent years.
While the trust can currently cover its dividend, declining interest rates could continue to force the trust ever further out on the risk spectrum to maintain its cash flows as its older mortgages roll off the balance sheet. This sets it up for potentially steep losses if the economy were to slip into a recession.
Therefore, ARMOUR stock carries notably higher levels of risk. This makes the investment highly speculative right now, especially for risk-averse income investors such as retirees. As a result, we encourage risk-averse investors to look elsewhere for sustainable and growing income.
Don’t miss the resources below for more monthly dividend stock investing research.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List
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