Amundi Trims Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Ellington Financial stake by 92.5% in the first quarter, selling 1.38 million shares and retaining 112,426 shares worth approximately $1.33 million. Institutional investors collectively own 55.62% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: one analyst rates the stock Buy while four rate it Hold, producing an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.88.
• Ellington Financial reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, exceeding the $0.46 consensus estimate, while revenue of $134.11 million also topped expectations. The company announced a monthly $0.13 dividend, representing an annualized yield of approximately 11.5%.

Amundi decreased its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 92.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,384,947 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.09% of Ellington Financial worth $1,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,080,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 263.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 593,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,036,000 after buying an additional 430,477 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,941,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,003,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,101,000 after buying an additional 349,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 17.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,218,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 331,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research lowered Ellington Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.88.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 3.5%

NYSE EFC opened at $13.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a current ratio of 42.65 and a quick ratio of 42.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.03. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.27 and a 12 month high of $14.12.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $134.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.59 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 52.43% and a return on equity of 17.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is presently 93.98%.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

Ellington Financial, Inc NYSE: EFC is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns through investments in residential and commercial mortgage-related assets. Established in 2013, the company is externally managed by Ellington Financial Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Ellington Management Group, an alternative asset management firm. EFC's core strategy centers on actively acquiring and managing agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS), mortgage servicing rights, residential whole loans, and other structured finance instruments, including asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

The company employs leverage and structured financing tools—such as repurchase agreements and secured credit facilities—to enhance portfolio yield while maintaining focus on risk mitigation.

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