Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,777 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFC. CWM LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 65.8% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,944 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter worth $138,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $217,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.7%

EFC stock opened at $13.69 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a quick ratio of 46.78 and a current ratio of 46.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.44 and its 200 day moving average is $13.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.01.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. The business had revenue of $242.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.99 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 116.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EFC. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Financial

In other Ellington Financial news, Director Ronald I. Simon bought 5,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.56 per share, for a total transaction of $75,176.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,800. This represents a 7.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.