Denali Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Key Points

• Denali Advisors LLC sharply increased its Ellington Financial stake by 679.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 88,133 shares worth about $1.2 million.
• Ellington Financial reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $0.55 EPS versus the $0.42 estimate and revenue of $171.83 million, well above expectations.
• The company announced a monthly dividend of $0.13 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 11.5%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a $14.56 target price.

Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 679.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 76,833 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Ellington Financial worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,003,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,101,000 after acquiring an additional 349,448 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 331,934 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.0% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,566,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,330,000 after acquiring an additional 102,957 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 21.0% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,430,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,563,000 after acquiring an additional 248,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 8.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,680,000 after acquiring an additional 68,209 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a quick ratio of 47.25 and a current ratio of 41.03. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.27 and a 52-week high of $14.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average price is $12.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.10.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 72.08% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $171.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $114.09 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is presently 93.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.56.

About Ellington Financial

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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