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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 12.7% per year 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 fall. Research 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

NYSE EFC opened at $12.37 on Wednesday. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 1.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently 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.