Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,704,000. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $664,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 230.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 96,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 124,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 48.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 231,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 75,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $13.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.99. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.66. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on EFC shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.