Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos Sells 5,900 Shares

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total transaction of $71,508.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 179,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,418.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

EFC stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.13. The stock had a trading volume of 444,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,854. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.98. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $14.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.99. The company has a current ratio of 46.79, a quick ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $31.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.68 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 66.65%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.86%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 243.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $23,326,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 509.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 774,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,848,000 after buying an additional 647,700 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 658,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,368,000 after buying an additional 111,314 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 763.2% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 107,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 95,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 504,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,417,000 after purchasing an additional 76,839 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. Jonestrading began coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.95.

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.