Global Retirement Partners LLC Sells 40,346 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Global Retirement Partners LLC reduced its position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 84.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,346 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $62,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $68,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $130,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth $135,000. Finally, CenterStar Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth $136,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFC. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.00.

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Ellington Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,377,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,913. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.63. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $14.40. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.25%. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.

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.