Corient Private Wealth LLC Invests $140,000 in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $140,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,704,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.4% in the fourth 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. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $664,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 230.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 96,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

EFC stock opened at $13.25 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.88 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 11.7%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.

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.