Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Short Interest Up 28.4% in December

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,960,000 shares, an increase of 28.4% from the December 15th total of 4,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 857,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth about $68,000. Members Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $129,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EFC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 722,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,451. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $13.46. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.60.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.43%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.58.

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.