Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Ellington Financial by 44.4%, now owning 1.09% of the company after selling 823,199 shares in the first quarter.
• Ellington Financial recently announced a monthly dividend of $0.13, resulting in an annualized yield of 11.3%, with the ex-dividend date on August 29th.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Ellington Financial, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.46.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 44.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,031,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 823,199 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.09% of Ellington Financial worth $13,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,899,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,228,000 after acquiring an additional 171,445 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,470,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,817,000 after acquiring an additional 67,807 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,115,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,797,000 after acquiring an additional 22,979 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 831,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 10,860 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,901,000 after acquiring an additional 29,188 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of EFC stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,294,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,016. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.06. 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 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.00.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $92.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.48 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 89.52%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a yield of 1,140.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFC has been the topic of several research reports. Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 price target on the stock in a research report 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 research 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.46.

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.