Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 439,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,837 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Ellington Financial worth $5,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $68,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $695,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,040,000 after purchasing an additional 41,669 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have weighed in on EFC. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Ellington Financial
Ellington Financial Trading Up 1.8 %
Ellington Financial stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 611,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,851. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.71 and its 200 day moving average is $12.65. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.88 and a 1-year high of $14.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 1.97.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The company 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%. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.
About Ellington Financial
(
Free Report)
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.
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