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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, January 9th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.6% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 88.1% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. 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 Down 0.7 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $12.15. 734,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,740. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $13.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.59. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. The trade was a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

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.