Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc Sells 4,000 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc cut its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. Delphi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $4,704,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,659,000 after buying an additional 347,587 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth $2,462,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1,030.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 219,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 199,972 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 872,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,576,000 after acquiring an additional 194,153 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $11.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.57.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 113.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

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.