Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 40.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,899,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,228,000 after purchasing an additional 171,445 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 2.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,115,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,797,000 after buying an additional 22,979 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 1.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 831,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,031,000 after buying an additional 10,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,901,000 after buying an additional 29,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delphi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 560,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,426,000 after acquiring an additional 171,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC opened at $13.15 on Friday. Ellington Financial Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.12 and a fifty-two week high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a quick ratio of 46.78 and a current ratio of 46.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.00.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 89.52%.The company had revenue of $92.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $112.48 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a yield of 1,140.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is currently 125.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $14.46.

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.