Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 29th

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 12.55%. The ex-dividend date 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% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. 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

Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.48. The company has a quick ratio of 73.16, a current ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. Ellington Financial has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $13.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.99.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive now owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.