Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) declared a mar 25 dividend on Friday, March 7th, RTT News reports. Investors 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

Ellington Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 2.6% 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 decline. 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 Stock Up 1.1 %

EFC opened at $13.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.74 and its 200 day moving average is $12.65. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.