Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 42,093 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 821,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 42,093 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.91% of Ellington Financial worth $9,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $25,338,000 after buying an additional 46,530 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 749,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,082,000 after acquiring an additional 22,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 642,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,782,000 after acquiring an additional 55,778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

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Ellington Financial Stock Performance

EFC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $13.35. The stock had a trading volume of 246,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,449. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $13.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.99. 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 (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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 reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.