Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.22% of Ellington Financial worth $1,872,000 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. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 535,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,680,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $465,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.50 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading initiated coverage on Ellington Financial in a report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 1.91. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $14.21. The company has a quick ratio of 46.79, a current ratio of 46.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.15.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 66.65% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 243.75%.

About Ellington Financial

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.