Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Now Covered by Jonestrading

Jonestrading started coverage on shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of EFC stock opened at $11.47 on Friday. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $14.21. The company has a current ratio of 46.75, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.51 and its 200 day moving average is $12.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $975.64 million, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.92.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued 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 13.60%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,263,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,165,000 after buying an additional 53,357 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 27,118 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,388,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,313,000 after purchasing an additional 338,434 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 509.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 774,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 647,700 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 658,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,368,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ellington Financial

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.