Analysts Set Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Price Target at $14.29

Key Points

• Ellington Financial Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six research firms, with five analysts issuing buy ratings and one a hold recommendation.
• The company recently declared a monthly dividend of $0.13 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 11.5% and a payout ratio of 125.81%.
• Ellington Financial's stock price is currently trading at $13.58, with a market cap of $1.28 billion and a PE ratio of 10.94.

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.2917.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MAS Advisors LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 22,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 67.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,170 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.72. The company had a trading volume of 943,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,055,561. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.94. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $11.12 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a current ratio of 46.78 and a quick ratio of 46.78.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 89.52%. The firm had revenue of $92.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.48 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.81%.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

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.