Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.85.

Separately, JMP Securities cut their target price on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 1.98. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84, a current ratio of 73.16 and a quick ratio of 73.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.98 and a 200-day moving average of $12.19.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 103.55%. The firm had revenue of $33.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.78%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 243.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total transaction of $71,508.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 8,126 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 147,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 28,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 658,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,368,000 after buying an additional 111,314 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 408,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,195,000 after buying an additional 42,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

Ellington Financial Inc, through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, manufactured housing, and subprime mortgage; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S.