Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 16th.
Great Ajax has decreased its dividend by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Great Ajax has a payout ratio of 91.5% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Great Ajax to earn $0.99 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 109.1%.
Great Ajax Price Performance
AJX stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.69. 318,215 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,417. The company has a market cap of $176.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.14 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.37 and its 200 day moving average is $8.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Great Ajax has a 12-month low of $7.02 and a 12-month high of $11.78.
Insider Activity at Great Ajax
In other news, CFO Mary B. Doyle sold 3,612 shares of Great Ajax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.56, for a total transaction of $27,306.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 95,759 shares in the company, valued at $723,938.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Great Ajax
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Great Ajax by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 38,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 10,566 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Great Ajax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $536,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Great Ajax by 54.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Great Ajax by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Great Ajax by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 165,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.63% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Separately, TheStreet cut Great Ajax from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a report on Friday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.50.
