Ronald Simon Buys 5,544 Shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock

Key Points

• Director Ronald Simon purchased 5,544 shares of Ellington Financial stock at an average price of $13.56 per share, increasing his ownership by 7.45% to a total of 80,000 shares.
• Ellington Financial recently declared a $0.13 dividend per share, with an impressive yield of 1,202.0%, payable on October 31st to shareholders of record by September 30th.
• In terms of stock performance, Ellington Financial reported $0.47 EPS in its last quarter, beating estimates, while analysts project an average target price of $14.46 for the stock.

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) Director Ronald Simon purchased 5,544 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.56 per share, for a total transaction of $75,176.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 80,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,800. The trade was a 7.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $13.16. The stock had a trading volume of 915,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,639. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a current ratio of 46.78 and a quick ratio of 46.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.36 and its 200 day moving average is $13.03. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.12 and a twelve month high of $14.40.

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

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,202.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is 125.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,418,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $3,941,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Ellington Financial by 738.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 310,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,031,000 after buying an additional 273,323 shares in the last quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Ellington Financial by 44.3% during the first quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 560,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,426,000 after buying an additional 171,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,899,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,228,000 after acquiring an additional 171,445 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFC. Jones Trading raised Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.46.

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.

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