Truist Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,046 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 3.6% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 29,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 68,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 150.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total transaction of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 168,359 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,120.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 1.98. 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 twelve month low of $10.88 and a twelve month high of $13.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.37.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 103.55% and a return on equity of 9.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.18%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 243.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.56.

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.