Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 504,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 76,839 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.74% of Ellington Financial worth $6,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $102,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.3% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 12,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $165,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $11.66. 621,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 748,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a current ratio of 46.75 and a quick ratio of 46.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $991.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.91. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $14.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.19.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $27.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 78.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is 173.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EFC. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Jonestrading assumed coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial 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.