Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 409,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,774 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $5,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 150.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Members Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $141,000. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EFC opened at $12.30 on Thursday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $13.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.69%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.08%.

Insider Activity at Ellington Financial

In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 168,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,120.32. This represents a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.56.

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.