Delphi Financial Group Inc. Takes $4.70 Million Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 388,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,704,000. Ellington Financial accounts for approximately 2.5% of Delphi Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Delphi Financial Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Ellington Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 146.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 726,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,368,000 after buying an additional 431,945 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at $695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.00.

Remove Ads

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

EFC traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.62. 1,413,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,588. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.66 and a 200 day moving average of $12.64.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.46%. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.