UPDATE: Bank of America Initiates Ellington Financial at Buy with $23.50 PO

Bank of America initiated its coverage on Ellington Financial EFC with a Buy rating and a price objective of $23.50 a share. Bank of America commented, "EFC is a publicly traded partnership that invests in a diversified portfolio of mortgage and real estate related securities. EFC should produce an attractive low double-digit yield from its portfolio with potential upside coming from improving residential real estate markets and strong trading performance. We expect an 18% total return over the next 12 months, based on our dividend forecast and price objective." Ellington Financial closed at $22.08 on Friday.