Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock 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. decreased its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Free Report) by 44.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,031,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 823,199 shares during the quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned 1.09% of Ellington Financial worth $13,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.0% in the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.2% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 56,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterStar Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.6% in the first quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EFC. Jones Trading upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.25 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ellington Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. B. Riley upped their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.00. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 week high of $14.40. The company has a quick ratio of 46.78, a current ratio of 46.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.04.

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

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 125.81%.

About Ellington Financial

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.

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