Brokerages Set Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Price Target at $13.58

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.58.

Several research firms have commented on EFC. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.74 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.95 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 146.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $4,704,000. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,462,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1,030.8% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 219,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after buying an additional 199,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 872,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,576,000 after buying an additional 194,153 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.