Millennium Management LLC Buys New Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $156,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,470,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,817,000 after buying an additional 67,807 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 24,046 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $1,613,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.7%

EFC stock opened at $13.06 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.99. Ellington Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.12 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.64%.

Ellington Financial Company 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.