GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 4,459.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,252 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ellington Financial worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $4,704,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 24,046 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $664,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $264,000. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EFC shares. B. Riley raised their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,645,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,058. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.71. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.11, a current ratio of 42.26 and a quick ratio of 42.26.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 101.59%. The company had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.13%. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is 110.64%.

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.