Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 66,600 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 123.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,600 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Ellington Financial worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 70,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 171,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 18,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EFC shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC stock opened at $13.24 on Friday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.66. 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 (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a yield of 11.7%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is currently 113.04%.

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.