CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Decreases Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,883 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Ellington Financial worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EFC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 814.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. B. Riley raised Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE EFC traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.02. 677,728 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 976,490. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.60. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a current ratio of 37.04 and a quick ratio of 37.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $38.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 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 11.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

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.