| Ellington Financial is a serial dividend cutter. There have been four dividend reductions in the past 10 years - five if you group the payouts on a quarterly basis. In other words, when the going gets tough, Ellington shareholders receive lower dividends. The company reduced its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.45 in late 2016, then again to $0.41 about a year later. It switched to a monthly dividend in 2019. Then, during the early days of the pandemic, it slashed the payout nearly in half from $0.15 to $0.08. The most recent cut came in March 2024 - from $0.15 per month to $0.13. As you can see, management is not shy about taking the hatchet to the dividend. If Ellington Financial is able to continue to grow NII as Wall Street expects, the dividend should be fine. But if there is any downturn, management has shown it is very willing to reduce the payout to shareholders - and they'll do it quickly, as evidenced by the cut in April 2020, just a few weeks after the pandemic began shutting things down. During the good times, investors should continue to receive the current level of dividends. The minute things aren't as rosy, expect a dividend cut. The dividend is not safe. Dividend Safety Rating: F Good investing, Marc P.S. If you're looking for monthly dividend income... look no further. I just released a new presentation on an overlooked way to collect up to 16 dividend payouts per year from the AI energy boom. Check it out here ASAP. | 
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