JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 193,987 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 425,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 193,987 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.47% of Ellington Financial worth $5,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $133,000. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE EFC traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.75. The stock had a trading volume of 202,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,349. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.12 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. On average, research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.24%. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 113.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

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.