Northern Trust Corp Has $13.25 Million Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,092,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 311,406 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.21% of Ellington Financial worth $13,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 30,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 162.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 182,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 43,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.22. 1,220,345 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,298. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.01. Ellington Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.12 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $12.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.63.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. Research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.