Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 146.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 726,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 431,945 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.85% of Ellington Financial worth $9,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 47,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 29,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 68,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC opened at $11.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84, a current ratio of 73.16 and a quick ratio of 73.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.83 and its 200-day moving average is $12.46. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $13.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 103.55%. The business had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities cut their target price on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.56.

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.