Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Short Interest Up 47.6% in June

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) saw a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, an increase of 47.6% from the June 15th total of 3,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 814,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $12.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,604,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,761. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 46.79, a current ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.09 and a 200 day moving average of $11.96.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.07). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 66.65% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $31.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.68 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 243.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $100,845.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 160,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,954,619.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $100,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 160,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,619.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $272,866. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Ellington Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 22,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on EFC. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Jonestrading started coverage on Ellington Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.95.

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.