Analysts Set Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Price Target at $14.06

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.95.

Several research firms recently issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jonestrading assumed coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $11.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a current ratio of 46.75. The stock has a market cap of $975.64 million, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.25. Ellington Financial has a one year low of $10.88 and a one year high of $14.21.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 173.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 32.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,313,000 after buying an additional 338,434 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $884,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 48,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 36,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 200.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 43,708 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Financial

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.