Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.13

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a monthly dividend on Monday, July 8th, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 12.7% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 95.7% 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

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.83 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial has a one year low of $10.88 and a one year high of $13.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.99. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.07). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 66.65% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $31.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.68 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EFC. StockNews.com upgraded Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jonestrading began coverage on Ellington Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JMP Securities cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.85.

Insider Transactions at Ellington Financial

In other news, 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 value of $100,513.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 169,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,048,697.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the company’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 value of $100,513.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 169,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,697.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $272,866 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

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.