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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, August 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, September 25th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 12.7% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a dividend 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 fall. Analysts expect Ellington Financial to earn $1.70 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 91.8%.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $13.19 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99, a current ratio of 46.79 and a quick ratio of 46.79.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 66.65% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $100,513.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 169,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,697.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total transaction of $71,508.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 179,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $100,513.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 169,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,048,697.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $272,866. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EFC shares. JMP Securities reduced their target price on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.85.

About Ellington Financial

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.