Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.4583.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EFC shares. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,418,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,653,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,364,000 after buying an additional 449,074 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth about $4,997,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,941,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 17.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,218,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 331,934 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $13.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.34. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $11.12 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The company has a quick ratio of 50.60, a current ratio of 50.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 89.04%. On average, research analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 116.42%.

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.