New York State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 1,100 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 126.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EFC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.50 to $13.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $13.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.50 target price on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jonestrading initiated coverage on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.95.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $11.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $970.50 million, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.92. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.88 and a 52-week high of $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.30, a quick ratio of 46.75 and a current ratio of 46.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.26.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $27.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.77 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 78.53% and a return on equity of 11.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.67%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 173.33%.

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.