Michael W. Vranos Sells 14,000 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Stock

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 168,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a current ratio of 73.16, a quick ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.36. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $33.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.20 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 103.55%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 243.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.85.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 150.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1,667.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 282,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 266,746 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Members Trust Co purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.