Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Holdings Raised by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,008,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,531 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.22% of Ellington Financial worth $24,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,885,000 after buying an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 642,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,782,000 after purchasing an additional 55,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EFC shares. B. Riley upgraded 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 research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $12.74. 255,889 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 966,561. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.12 and a twelve month high of $14.40. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.58.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The company had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

Ellington Financial Company 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.