GraniteShares Advisors LLC Invests $2.46 Million in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 203,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,462,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,338,000 after purchasing an additional 46,530 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 872,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,576,000 after purchasing an additional 194,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 41,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 22,528 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.61. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 119.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.58.

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.