Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EFC shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $13.62 on Monday. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.88 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 113.04%.

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.