Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,092,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 311,406 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.21% of Ellington Financial worth $13,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EFC. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 30,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 182,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.3% in 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 last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EFC. B. Riley upped their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on 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 reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE EFC traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $12.88. 116,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 973,247. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.79 and a 200-day moving average of $12.64. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.01.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.