Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Price Target to $14.50

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) had its price target increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $13.75 to $14.50 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 6.50% from the company’s previous close.

EFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $13.62 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $14.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.64.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 814.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. 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.