Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Upgraded to Buy at Jones Trading

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) was upgraded by research analysts at Jones Trading from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $14.25 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Jones Trading’s price target suggests a potential upside of 3.56% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.29.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC stock opened at $13.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 46.78, a quick ratio of 42.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.94. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.00. Ellington Financial has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $92.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.48 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the first quarter valued at about $6,418,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,659,000 after buying an additional 347,587 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,092,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after buying an additional 311,406 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the first quarter valued at about $3,941,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 738.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 273,323 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.