MAS Advisors LLC Has $298,000 Position in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

MAS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. MAS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ellington Financial by 243.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in Ellington Financial by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 4,944 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $138,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $156,000. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $13.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.02. 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 current ratio of 46.78 and a quick ratio of 46.78.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $92.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.48 million. As a group, analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1,202.0%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Ellington Financial news, Director Ronald I. Simon bought 5,544 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,800. The trade was a 7.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Ellington Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.