Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 4,815 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,815 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Ellington Financial worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,885,000 after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,659,000 after buying an additional 347,587 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,008,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,353,000 after acquiring an additional 43,531 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 872,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,576,000 after acquiring an additional 194,153 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. B. Riley upgraded Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 1.57. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.04%.

Ellington Financial 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.