Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 66,600 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 123.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 66,600 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Ellington Financial worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 43,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 70,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 45,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:EFC traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.28. 811,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 903,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.99. 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 quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.02 and a 200 day moving average of $12.66.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $38.13 million for 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%. 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 disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.