Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,140,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,943 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $40,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 128.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 51,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 28,790 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $130,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 88.9% during 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 worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 63,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 12.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. The trade was a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:EFC opened at $12.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $13.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.57. The company has a quick ratio of 37.04, a current ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 119.08%.

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.