Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Acquired by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.17% of Ellington Financial worth $1,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $4,704,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 54.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $664,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.1%

EFC stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.97. 676,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,634. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $14.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.68.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.03%. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.