11,190 Shares in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Purchased by CenterStar Asset Management LLC

CenterStar Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EFC. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at $62,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. Members Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $129,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $130,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.58.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

EFC opened at $12.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a current ratio of 37.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.59. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The business had revenue of $33.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.44%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 119.08%.

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.