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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, May 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 91.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Ellington Financial to earn $1.74 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 89.7%.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:EFC traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $11.78. 1,187,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,392. The company has a current ratio of 46.75, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $14.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.44 and a 200-day moving average of $12.18.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. The firm had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading initiated coverage on Ellington Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.95.

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.