Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock Bumped Down to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

EFC has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JonesTrading reduced their price objective on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.83.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 1.7%

Ellington Financial stock opened at $11.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.57, a quick ratio of 52.06 and a current ratio of 45.99. Ellington Financial has a one year low of $11.15 and a one year high of $14.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $117.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.83 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 41.95% and a return on equity of 15.83%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.8%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $284,144,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,952,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,043,000 after acquiring an additional 347,567 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,133,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 18.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 605,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,177,000 after acquiring an additional 94,625 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 263.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 593,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,036,000 after acquiring an additional 430,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ellington Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Ellington Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a monthly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable December 31 to shareholders of record November 30. That equates to $1.56 annualized and a reported yield of 13.7%, supporting EFC’s appeal to income-focused investors. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Ellington is pursuing growth in non-qualified mortgage servicing through a new acquisition. The strategy could expand its servicing business, though the supplied report does not detail the deal’s terms or expected financial contribution. Non-QM servicing acquisition article
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 earnings were $0.45 per share versus the $0.47 consensus, while revenue of $117.72 million also fell short of the $125.83 million estimate. The modest misses may have pressured the shares. Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: JonesTrading cut its price target from $14.50 to $13.00, tempering its outlook, although it maintained a Buy rating. The new target still implies potential upside from the cited $11.29 price. JonesTrading rating information

About Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, invests in and manages a portfolio of mortgage-related and other financial assets. The company focuses primarily on residential and commercial mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities and related investments.

Its investment activities may include agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential and commercial mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and consumer loans.