RBF Capital LLC Sells 30,000 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

RBF Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 105,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. RBF Capital LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 814.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $12.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.12 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.57.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.43%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 113.04%.

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.