Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Sells $71,508.00 in Stock

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total transaction of $71,508.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

EFC opened at $12.13 on Thursday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99, a current ratio of 46.79 and a quick ratio of 46.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted 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). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 66.65%. The business had revenue of $31.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.68 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.86%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 243.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EFC. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading initiated coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.50 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.