Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos Sells 8,300 Shares of Stock

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $100,845.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 160,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,954,619.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $12.18 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.04. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.95. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $14.21. The company has a quick ratio of 46.79, a current ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $31.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.68 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 66.65% and a return on equity of 10.51%. Equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 243.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EFC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Jonestrading began coverage on Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, 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, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,879,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,625,000 after purchasing an additional 45,979 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $23,326,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after buying an additional 338,434 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 509.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 774,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,848,000 after buying an additional 647,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ellington Financial by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 658,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,368,000 after acquiring an additional 111,314 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.