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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, January 8th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 2.6% per year over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 88.1% 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 Price Performance

Shares of EFC traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 734,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,740. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $13.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.97. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by 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.