Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 8,593 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,593 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Ellington Financial worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 814.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 1.0%

EFC opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.67. Ellington Financial Inc. has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.47%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 110.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. B. Riley upped their target price on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

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.