Sigma Planning Corp Grows Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Ellington Financial worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EFC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 162.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 243.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EFC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ellington Financial from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.30.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE:EFC opened at $13.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.11, a quick ratio of 42.26 and a current ratio of 42.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.82. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.98. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.12 and a 52-week high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 101.59%. The business had revenue of $82.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.06 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a yield of 11.8%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 110.64%.

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.