Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives $14.46 Average PT from Analysts

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.4583.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EFC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jones Trading raised Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald I. Simon acquired 5,544 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.56 per share, with a total value of $75,176.64. Following the acquisition, the director owned 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,800. This trade represents a 7.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. MAS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 22,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a quick ratio of 46.78 and a current ratio of 46.78. Ellington Financial has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 89.52%.The business had revenue of $92.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.48 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a yield of 1,202.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is currently 125.81%.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

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.