Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,093 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $9,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 162.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,704,000. Norden Group LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 17,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 4,913 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Ellington Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed 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 shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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.com, Ellington Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $14.40. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.99.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.88 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a mar 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.04%.

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.