Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives $13.58 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.58.

Separately, B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day moving average of $12.59. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. Ellington Financial has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.89%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 146.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 726,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 431,945 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 1,667.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 282,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 266,746 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,968,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,885,000 after buying an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 230.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 96,525 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ellington Financial

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.