Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 47.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 81,200 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ellington Financial worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,040,000 after buying an additional 41,669 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 88.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 134,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 63,515 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 128.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 51,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 28,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $148,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

EFC stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,154,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,569. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.00 and a 200 day moving average of $12.60. 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 current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $112.88 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial 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.