Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.06.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $11.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.27. 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 capitalization of $945.44 million, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.92. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.21.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 173.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,559,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,142,000 after acquiring an additional 918,081 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,833,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,432,000 after acquiring an additional 569,935 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,524,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,202,000 after acquiring an additional 215,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,571,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,594,000 after acquiring an additional 27,118 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.