Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Short Interest Down 12.6% in November

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,310,000 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the October 31st total of 4,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 832,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 740,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,645. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $13.46. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.56.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.69%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Insider Activity at Ellington Financial

In other Ellington Financial 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 transaction, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. The trade was a 7.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 96,525 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,965,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,338,000 after acquiring an additional 46,530 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 38.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 142,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 39,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.