Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock Price

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $13.75 to $14.50 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

EFC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial has a fifty-two week low of $10.88 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.64.

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

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.46%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,659,000 after purchasing an additional 347,587 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,008,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,353,000 after purchasing an additional 43,531 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,470,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,817,000 after purchasing an additional 67,807 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,092,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after buying an additional 311,406 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.