Sigma Planning Corp Cuts Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,757 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp owned 0.06% of Ellington Financial worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $102,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth about $165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Jonestrading assumed coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC opened at $11.61 on Friday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.24. The firm has a market cap of $987.12 million, a PE ratio of 12.89 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 (NYSE:EFC) last issued its 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.34%.

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.