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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 12.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.6% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 90.7% 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

EFC stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.73. 676,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 865,362. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.58. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $13.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.