Marshall Wace LLP Sells 562,745 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 566,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 562,745 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.63% of Ellington Financial worth $6,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,659,000 after buying an additional 347,587 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,008,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,353,000 after acquiring an additional 43,531 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $10,576,000 after acquiring an additional 194,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 42,093 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 22,528 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of EFC stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.99. 988,467 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,313. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.58. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.12 and a twelve month high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial's 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.