State of Alaska Department of Revenue Grows Stock Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,918 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.06% of Ellington Financial worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFC. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,965,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,338,000 after purchasing an additional 46,530 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,040,000 after purchasing an additional 41,669 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 749,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 22,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 231,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 75,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $12.98 on Friday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.40 and a 200-day moving average of $12.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.02%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.58.

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.