Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT

Up to date on September twenty sixth, 2025 by Bob Ciura

Actual property funding trusts generally have excessive dividend yields in extra of 10%. Ellington Credit score Firm (EARN) is one such instance. The inventory has an enormous dividend yield of 16.9% right now.

Excessive-yielding shares can generally be a warning signal that vital challenges are impeding the enterprise. For Ellington, because the share value drops as a consequence of its circumstances, the dividend yield will increase.

Ellington is probably not a well known inventory, however in October 2021, the company selected to switch its dividend fee schedule from quarterly to month-to-month.

Meaning EARN is on the listing of month-to-month dividend shares.

We’ve compiled an inventory of 80+ month-to-month dividend shares, together with vital monetary metrics like dividend yields and payout ratios, which you’ll be able to view by clicking on the hyperlink beneath:

This text will analyze the funding prospects of Ellington Credit score Firm intimately.

Enterprise Overview

Ellington Credit score Firm is a closed-end fund targeted on company CLOs, primarily mezzanine debt and fairness tranches. The company trades on the NYSE beneath the ticker image EARN.

EARN is headquartered in Outdated Greenwich, Connecticut and is a small-cap firm with a market capitalization of ~$214 million. Ellington Credit score Firm is externally managed by an affiliate of Ellington Administration Group, LLC.

In April 2024, Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT modified its identify to Ellington Credit score Firm, and introduced its intention to remodel right into a collateralized mortgage obligations (“CLOs”)-focused firm, shifting away from its give attention to MBS. On January 17, 2025, shareholders voted and permitted of the conversion.

On April 1st, 2025, Ellington Credit score accomplished its conversion right into a CLO-focused closed-end fund.

On August nineteenth, 2025, Ellington Credit score reported its first fiscal quarter outcomes for the interval ending June 30, 2025. The corporate generated internet earnings of $10.2 million, or $0.27 per share. Ellington achieved adjusted internet funding earnings of $6.6 million within the quarter, or $0.18 per share.

At quarter finish, Ellington had $36.6 million in money and money equivalents.

Development Prospects

Ellington has seen its adjusted distributable earnings (known as core earnings previous to Q2 2022) per share shrink quite than develop for probably the most half. Nevertheless, since 2019, the annual progress charge has been 5.3%.

In its first few years, the corporate held its share rely constant, however following 2016, the variety of shares excellent has grown, which will be one other barrier to rising earnings on a per share foundation.

In April 2024, Ellington Credit score started the refocusing and rotation of its portfolio into CLOs. In the newest quarter, the corporate grew its CLO portfolio by 27% sequentially to $317 million. Moreover, its capital allocation to CLOs rose to 87%.

Given the refocusing of Ellington’s marketing strategy, together with its poor monitor file of earnings progress, we anticipate EPS progress of 6% per 12 months over the following 5 years.

Aggressive Benefit & Recession Efficiency

Ellington claims that its portfolio managers are among the many most skilled within the MBS sector and its analytics have been developed over the corporate’s 30-year historical past.

The corporate possesses superior proprietary fashions for prepayments and credit score evaluation. Additionally, roughly 20% of the corporate’s staff are targeted on analysis and knowledge know-how.

Whereas the corporate’s particulars weren’t public within the 2008 actual property crash, a recession of that magnitude would most positively have an effect on EARN.

Its give attention to government-sponsored MBS present some security, however a protracted recession sooner or later would possible have an effect on EARN’s backside line, and end in additional dividend reductions.

Dividend Evaluation

The dividend has been lower almost each single 12 months in its historical past with a rise in 2021, adopted by the dividend schedule being modified to month-to-month over quarterly, which some shareholders could recognize.

And in Could 2022, the dividend was lower once more, by 20%.

In 5 of the final ten years, the corporate’s payout ratio was close to or above 100%. At present, even after one other dividend lower, the dividend seems to be beneath heavy stress.

Nonetheless, at a degree of $0.96 per share, EARN inventory yields almost 17%. Subsequently, EARN inventory continues to be engaging for earnings buyers as a excessive dividend inventory.

However EARN’s dividend is much from reliable, given the company has had a path of cuts previously. The dividend payout ratio is predicted at 105% for 2025.

Any time an organization’s dividend payout ratio exceeds 100%, it’s a pink flag because it means the corporate is payout out greater than it brings in by underlying earnings.

In consequence, the dividend seems to be unsustainable on the present earnings degree.

Closing Ideas

Ellington Credit score has a poor historic file, each in core earnings per share and within the dividend. In reality, EARN slashed the dividend for six years in a row main as much as 2021 after which once more in 2022.

Regardless of these fixed cuts, the yield stays very excessive, because the share value has additionally cratered over the long run. Outcomes are risky, and thus, fairly dangerous.

Ellington Credit score receives a promote score as a consequence of its abysmal dividend historical past. Moreover, its dividend continues to be not on stable footing, leaving it open to even additional potential dividend cuts.

Don’t miss the sources beneath for extra month-to-month dividend inventory investing analysis.

And see the sources beneath for extra compelling funding concepts for dividend progress shares and/or high-yield funding securities.