Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 17,695 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,695 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EFC. MAS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the first quarter worth $446,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 467,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 126.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 54.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 10,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 149,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after buying an additional 9,534 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC opened at $11.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a current ratio of 46.75 and a quick ratio of 46.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.26. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $958.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.92.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 173.34%.

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.