Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Rating Reiterated by JMP Securities

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating restated by research analysts at JMP Securities in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.50 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 27.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $11.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $970.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a current ratio of 46.75 and a quick ratio of 46.75. Ellington Financial has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $14.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.26.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. The firm had revenue of $27.99 million during 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 918,081 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,833,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,432,000 after buying an additional 569,935 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Ellington Financial by 9.3% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,524,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,202,000 after buying an additional 215,824 shares during the period. 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 worth $19,594,000 after acquiring an additional 27,118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.