Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 46,530 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,965,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,530 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.17% of Ellington Financial worth $25,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 47,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 3.6% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 29,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 4.6% during the second quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 38,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 70,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 7.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC stock opened at $12.18 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.58. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.08%.

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.