Easterly Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 889,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 283,055 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.98% of Ellington Financial worth $10,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $130,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on EFC shares. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $14.00.

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Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Ellington Financial stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $13.18. 357,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 928,679. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.07 and its 200 day moving average is $12.67.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 11.7%. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

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.