Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.13 on March 25th

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 2.6% per year over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 90.7% indicating that 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $12.73 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.58. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.58.

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.