Portside Wealth Group LLC Has $163,000 Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Portside Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 958 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $163,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. CenterStar Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4,459.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 62,252 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1,824.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 5,291 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,613,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $12.69 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.60 and its 200-day moving average is $12.67.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 106.40% and a return on equity of 10.26%. The company had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.06 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.29%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on EFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $13.75 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

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.