Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.58.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFC. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EFC stock opened at $12.55 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $13.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.59. 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 (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.44%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at $68,000. Members Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth $129,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $135,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.