Brokerages Set Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) PT at $14.00

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One 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 twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

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

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC opened at $13.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $13.10 and its 200-day moving average is $12.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.99. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth $4,704,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth $664,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 230.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 96,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,885,000 after buying an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.