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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, April 4th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 2.6% annually over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 91.8% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities 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 Price Performance

Shares of EFC traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $12.14. 2,630,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 957,910. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.57. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Research analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EFC. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

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.