MAS Advisors LLC Has $343,000 Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

MAS Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,680 shares during the quarter. MAS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 47,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.58.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $12.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.59. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.08%.

Ellington Financial 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.