Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Acquired by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,965,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,338,000 after purchasing an additional 46,530 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in 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 valued at $10,576,000 after buying an additional 194,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.7% during 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 buying an additional 41,669 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 749,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,082,000 after buying an additional 22,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.75.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC opened at $14.35 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.60 and a 200-day moving average of $12.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm 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%. Analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.08%.

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.