Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Rating Lowered to C at TheStreet

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC – Get Rating) was downgraded by TheStreet from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report issued on Friday, TheStreetRatingsTable reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on EFC. Zacks Investment Research cut Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Ellington Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.40.

EFC opened at $15.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 31.82 and a quick ratio of 31.82. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $14.82 and a 1 year high of $19.60. The firm has a market cap of $863.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.89.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported ($0.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.61). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 63.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 234.4% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 19,707.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 5,124 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 82.6% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the first quarter worth $178,000. Institutional investors own 59.15% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Financial (Get Rating)

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 residential mortgage loans; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S.

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