Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Holdings Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of Ellington Financial worth $2,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EFC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,965,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,338,000 after buying an additional 46,530 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 872,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,576,000 after acquiring an additional 194,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,082,000 after acquiring an additional 22,528 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $13.36 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $10.88 and a one year high of $14.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The business had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. As a group, analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on 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 raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.