Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Position Increased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,879,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,625,000 after buying an additional 45,979 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $23,326,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 509.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 774,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 647,700 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 658,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,368,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 654,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,901,000 after purchasing an additional 27,392 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 179,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $100,845.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 160,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,619.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $272,866. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC opened at $13.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.08. The company has a current ratio of 73.16, a quick ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.88 and a 1 year high of $13.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.20 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 103.55% and a return on equity of 9.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 243.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JMP Securities dropped their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.85.

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.