Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,728,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,492 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.32% of Ellington Financial worth $69,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC opened at $11.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.61. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

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.