Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,695 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,263,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,165,000 after purchasing an additional 53,357 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,524,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,202,000 after purchasing an additional 215,824 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.8% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 27,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 32.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,313,000 after buying an additional 338,434 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:EFC opened at $11.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $958.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.92. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.26. The company has a quick ratio of 46.75, a current ratio of 46.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $30.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.85%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 173.34%.

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.