Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 47.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 88,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,200 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EFC. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 52,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Ellington Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 30,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 120,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after buying an additional 66,600 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 70,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFC. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.42 on Monday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.57.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.56%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.

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.