Invesco Ltd. Buys 347,587 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 347,587 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 2.61% of Ellington Financial worth $28,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EFC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $12.71. 321,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,139,496. 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 market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.57. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.12 and a 52-week high of $14.40.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.