Ellington Financial Inc. Announces Monthly Dividend of $0.13 (NYSE:EFC)

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, November 8th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.7% per year over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 96.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities analysts expect Ellington Financial to earn $1.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 93.4%.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $12.42. 996,931 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,612. The company has a current ratio of 73.16, a quick ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 103.55% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.56.

Insider Transactions at Ellington Financial

In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 168,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial Inc, through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, manufactured housing, and subprime mortgage; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S.