An Insider At Ellington Financial Lowered Their Holding Recently

Insiders were net sellers of Ellington Financial Inc.'s (NYSE:EFC ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ellington Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Ellington Financial

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Co-Chief Investment Officer, Michael Vranos, sold US$201k worth of shares at a price of US$12.15 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$11.95. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive). Michael Vranos was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Michael Vranos sold a total of 50.86k shares over the year at an average price of US$12.35. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insiders At Ellington Financial Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Ellington Financial. In total, Co-Chief Investment Officer Michael Vranos dumped US$355k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Ellington Financial insiders own 2.6% of the company, worth about US$27m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Ellington Financial Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But it is good to see that Ellington Financial is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Ellington Financial you should be aware of, and 2 of these shouldn't be ignored.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.