Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 183,612 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 393,234 shares.The stock last traded at $12.26 and had previously closed at $12.16.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.27 and a 200-day moving average of $12.58. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.65%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 124,943 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 726,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 431,945 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $695,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,040,000 after purchasing an additional 41,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.