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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 12.7% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 96.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research 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

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 73.16, a quick ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.73 and a 200-day moving average of $12.48. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JMP Securities dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.56.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

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.