** Shares of mortgage real estate investment trust Ellington Financial EFC.N down 2.6% in extended trading to $13.50 as it seeks equity

** Old Greenwich, Connecticut-based EFC commences ~8.8 mln share offering

** Co intends to use net offering proceeds to fully redeem fixed-to-floating rate preferred stock, any remaining for general purposes

** Morgan Stanley and Goldman joint bookrunners

** EFC shares on Mon closed down 0.3% at $13.86. Stock has risen about 11% over the past year

** As of Jan 23, co has ~115.9 mln shares outstanding, per the offering prospectus

** 7 of 8 analysts rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold"; median PT $14.50, per LSEG data

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))