Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.06

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.06 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th.

Great Ajax has a dividend payout ratio of 88.9% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Great Ajax to earn $0.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 88.9%.

Great Ajax Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE:AJX traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $3.50. 138,874 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,923. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Great Ajax has a 1 year low of $3.30 and a 1 year high of $7.20.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $17.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Great Ajax will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities downgraded Great Ajax from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Great Ajax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th.

Great Ajax Company Profile

Great Ajax Corp. operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust. It acquires re-performing and non-performing loans; acquires or originates small balance commercial mortgage loans that are secured by multi-family residential and commercial mixed use retail/residential properties; and invests in single-family and smaller commercial properties.