Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives $14.06 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.95.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Jonestrading started coverage on Ellington Financial in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $11.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $971.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a current ratio of 46.75 and a quick ratio of 46.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $11.53 and its 200-day moving average is $12.26. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.21.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. The firm had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.77 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 173.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,559,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,142,000 after purchasing an additional 918,081 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 509.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 774,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 647,700 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,833,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,432,000 after purchasing an additional 569,935 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,465,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after purchasing an additional 338,434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.