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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, January 8th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 12.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 2.6% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a 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 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 Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:EFC traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.15. 734,399 shares of the stock 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 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $13.46. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $12.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.59.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.