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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total transaction of $100,513.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 169,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,048,697.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC opened at $12.18 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.04. The company has a current ratio of 46.79, a quick ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.95. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $14.21.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 243.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of several research reports. Jonestrading started coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $23,326,000. UBS Group AG lifted 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 acquiring an additional 647,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 32.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after acquiring an additional 338,434 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 763.2% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 107,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 95,051 shares during the period. 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.