Western Asset Mortgage Capital Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.04 (NYSE:WMC)

Western Asset Mortgage Capital Co. (NYSE:WMC – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 21st, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.04 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, July 25th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 30th.

Western Asset Mortgage Capital has decreased its dividend by an average of 42.2% annually over the last three years. Western Asset Mortgage Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 57.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Western Asset Mortgage Capital to earn $0.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.3%.

Shares of WMC opened at $1.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.74. Western Asset Mortgage Capital has a twelve month low of $1.10 and a twelve month high of $3.61. The company has a current ratio of 1,098.13, a quick ratio of 1,098.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.45.

Western Asset Mortgage Capital (NYSE:WMC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.05). Western Asset Mortgage Capital had a negative net margin of 53.54% and a positive return on equity of 3.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Asset Mortgage Capital will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMC. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Western Asset Mortgage Capital by 536.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 97,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 82,040 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Asset Mortgage Capital by 103.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 55,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 28,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Asset Mortgage Capital in the first quarter worth approximately $97,000. Institutional investors own 22.99% of the company’s stock.

WMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Western Asset Mortgage Capital from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Asset Mortgage Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 20th. Finally, Jonestrading upgraded shares of Western Asset Mortgage Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 13th.

About Western Asset Mortgage Capital (Get Rating)

Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust. It invests in, acquires, and manages a portfolio of assets with a focus on residential real estate related investments, including non-qualified mortgage loans, non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and other related investments.

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