Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $9.08 Million Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 749,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,528 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.83% of Ellington Financial worth $9,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 230.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 138,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 96,525 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,885,000 after buying an additional 124,943 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $695,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,040,000 after acquiring an additional 41,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 134,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 63,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Financial

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,120.32. The trade was a 7.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.09. 441,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 804,629. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $13.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.59.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The firm had revenue of $33.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.08%.

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.