BlackRock Inc. Takes Position in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,877,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $284,144,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 16.65% of Ellington Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the second quarter valued at about $11,133,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,497,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,334,000 after purchasing an additional 773,291 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,080,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 593,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,036,000 after purchasing an additional 430,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,941,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $13.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 52.06, a quick ratio of 52.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.94. Ellington Financial Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.27 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.04.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 52.43% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $134.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.59 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is 95.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research cut shares of Ellington Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.50.

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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