Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $695,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,040,000 after acquiring an additional 41,669 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 81,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 15,190 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 88.9% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 63,515 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:EFC opened at $13.39 on Wednesday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.66.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The business had revenue of $38.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.88 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

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