Ellington Financial’s (EFC) “Market Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $14.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EFC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

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

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.85%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 173.34%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $61,432,000 after purchasing an additional 569,935 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $31,202,000 after purchasing an additional 215,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $19,594,000 after purchasing an additional 27,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.