Amundi Makes New $6.42 Million Investment in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Key Points

• Amundi acquired a new stake of 490,704 shares in Ellington Financial Inc. for approximately $6.4 million, representing about 0.52% ownership of the company.
• Several analysts upgraded Ellington Financial's stock, with Zacks Research giving it a "strong-buy" rating and UBS Group increasing their price target to $13.50.
• Ellington Financial declared a dividend of $0.13 per share, with a staggering dividend yield of 1,140.0%, to be paid on October 31st.

Amundi purchased a new position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 490,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,418,000. Amundi owned approximately 0.52% of Ellington Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFC. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 56,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Finally, CenterStar Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jones Trading upgraded Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFC traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.23. 1,490,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,788. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.05. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 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 - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $92.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $112.48 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors 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 yield of 1,140.0%. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is presently 125.81%.

Ellington Financial Company 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.