M&T Bank Corp Buys New Shares in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $164,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 42,093 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 24,046 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 156,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4,459.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 62,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 42.26, a quick ratio of 42.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.83. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.98. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 101.59% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.30.

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.