Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Raised to Strong-Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC opened at $12.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.59. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46. 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 $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.08%.

Insider Transactions at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. This represents a 7.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ellington Financial by 230.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 96,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 146.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 726,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 431,945 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $695,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,040,000 after acquiring an additional 41,669 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.