Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Stake Raised by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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.’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $9,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 763.2% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 107,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 95,051 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 15,156 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the first quarter worth $23,326,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.83 and its 200-day moving average is $12.46. The company has a quick ratio of 73.16, a current ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $13.46.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities lowered their target price on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.