Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC Shares Bought by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 243.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 14,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 28,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 6,892 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald I. Simon bought 5,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.56 per share, with a total value of $75,176.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,800. The trade was a 7.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 1.4%

EFC stock opened at $13.49 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.00. Ellington Financial Inc. has a one year low of $11.12 and a one year high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $92.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.48 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a oct 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,161.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.81%.

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.