Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Price Target Raised to $16.00

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) had its price target boosted by B. Riley from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

EFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.5%

EFC stock opened at $13.22 on Thursday. Ellington Financial has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 week high of $14.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.63. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.06 million. On average, analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 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 Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.80%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is currently 110.64%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,704,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $664,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 48.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 231,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 75,143 shares during the period. Finally, Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,445,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.