Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT (symbol: EARN) will start paying monthly dividends.

In a press release dated October 7, 2021, the company's Board of Trustees has declared an inaugural monthly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on November 26, 2021 to shareholders of record as of October 29, 2021. Beginning with this dividend, EARN expects to pay common share dividends on a monthly basis, rather than quarterly as it had previously paid dividends.

“By shifting to a monthly dividend, we are further aligning our distribution practices with the interests and expectations of income-oriented shareholders,” said Laurence Penn, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company. “We believe that more frequent distributions will broaden our appeal to investors seeking consistent and reliable dividends.”

EARN last hiked its quarterly dividend by 7.1 percent to 30 cents per share this June. The company did not raise its dividend in 2020 and cut its payment five consecutive years from 2015 to 2019.

By paying monthly dividends EARN joins several other well-known US REITs that pay monthly dividends, including Agree Realty, Gladstone Land, Realty Income, STAG Industrial and EPR Properties. A newcomer starting with monthly dividend payments is Phillips Edison & Co (PECO). Commercial real estate investment trust PECO now yields 3.2% and already announced one dividend hike since the July 202, 2020 IPO.