Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $102,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,263,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,165,000 after purchasing an additional 53,357 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 33,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $392,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.06.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $11.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $959.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.92. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.89 and a 52 week high of $14.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.31. The company has a current ratio of 46.75, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 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, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.83%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.34%.

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.