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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.58.

EFC has been the subject of several research reports. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Members Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $129,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at $130,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $12.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.59. Ellington Financial has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $13.46. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.08%.

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.