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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading assumed coverage on Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $11.66 on Thursday. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.21. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.19. The firm has a market cap of $991.80 million, a P/E ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.91.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 173.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the first quarter worth $23,326,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 15,156 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 15,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 2,903 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 568,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,713,000 after purchasing an additional 63,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 411,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,434 shares during the last quarter. 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.