Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 5,098 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 420,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,098 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $5,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFC. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 126.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $11.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.62 and a 200-day moving average of $12.30. Ellington Financial Inc. has a one year low of $10.89 and a one year high of $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a current ratio of 46.75 and a quick ratio of 46.75. The company has a market cap of $951.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.94%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 173.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EFC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.06.

Ellington Financial 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.