StockNews.com Upgrades Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

EFC has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading initiated coverage on Ellington Financial in a report on Friday, April 19th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $11.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a current ratio of 46.75. The company has a market capitalization of $991.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.44 and a 200 day moving average of $12.19. Ellington Financial has a one year low of $10.88 and a one year high of $14.21.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.38%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 32.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after buying an additional 338,434 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $884,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 48,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 14.5% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 36,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 200.7% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 65,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 43,708 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Financial

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.