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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) announced a monthly dividend on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st.

Ellington Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Ellington Financial has a payout ratio of 91.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. 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 1.1%

Shares of NYSE EFC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.94. The stock had a trading volume of 240,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,193,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.02, a quick ratio of 47.25 and a current ratio of 47.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.95. Ellington Financial has a twelve month low of $11.12 and a twelve month high of $14.12.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.03. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 53.10%.The company had revenue of $96.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.07 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.56.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

Ellington Financial, Inc (NYSE: EFC) is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns through investments in residential and commercial mortgage-related assets. Established in 2013, the company is externally managed by Ellington Financial Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Ellington Management Group, an alternative asset management firm. EFC’s core strategy centers on actively acquiring and managing agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS), mortgage servicing rights, residential whole loans, and other structured finance instruments, including asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

The company employs leverage and structured financing tools—such as repurchase agreements and secured credit facilities—to enhance portfolio yield while maintaining focus on risk mitigation.