Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Now Covered by Jonestrading

Jonestrading began coverage on shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EFC. BTIG Research cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Ellington Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $14.50 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC opened at $11.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.26. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.21. 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 has a market capitalization of $970.53 million, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.92.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 13.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 126.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.