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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, February 10th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.6% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 90.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE EFC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.73. 676,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,372. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.58. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EFC. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.58.

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.