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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the four analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.06.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC stock opened at $11.12 on Thursday. Ellington Financial has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $14.21. The company has a quick ratio of 46.75, a current ratio of 46.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $945.44 million, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.92.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after buying an additional 338,434 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $884,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.1% in 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 buying an additional 5,972 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 200.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 43,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.