Northern Trust Corp Raises Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ellington Financial Inc. by 2.1%, now holding over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $14.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their stakes in Ellington Financial, indicating strong interest, with total institutional ownership at 55.62%.
• Ellington Financial recently reported earnings that exceeded estimates, with EPS of $0.47 compared to the consensus of $0.40, although revenue was below expectations.

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,115,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,979 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.18% of Ellington Financial worth $14,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 243.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1,824.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 5,291 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 99.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFC. Zacks Research raised shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Ellington Financial stock traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $13.62. 317,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,073,765. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.05. The company has a current ratio of 46.78, a quick ratio of 46.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 week high of $14.40. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.00.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.48 million. Equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. Ellington Financial's payout ratio is 125.81%.

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.