Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Sells $100,513.00 in Stock

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.11, for a total value of $100,513.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 169,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,048,697.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $12.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 46.79, a current ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99. The firm 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’s 50-day moving average price is $11.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.04.

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

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 20.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 worth $17,313,000 after purchasing an additional 338,434 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $884,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 48,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 14.5% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 36,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.