Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $13.32. The company had a trading volume of 998,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,717. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.