Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) to Issue Mar 25 Dividend of $0.13

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a mar 25 dividend on Friday, March 7th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 25th. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

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 91.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC opened at $13.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.99. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.71 and its 200-day moving average is $12.65. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on EFC shares. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

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.