SG Americas Securities LLC invested $278,000 in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $500,000. Strs Ohio grew its position in Ellington Financial by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 15,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 39,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 30,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 46,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 13,371 shares during the period. 55.62% of shares are owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial stock rose 0.4%

Shares of EFC stock opened at $13.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 1.97. Ellington Financial Inc. it has a one year low of $10.88 and a one year high of $13.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.59, and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.99, a current ratio of 46.79, and a quick ratio of 46.79.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC – Get Your Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 66.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted EPS of $0.38. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial announces dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.56 and a yield of 11.80%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 243.75%.

Insiders place their bets

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 179,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total value of $71,508.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,177,418.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via this link. Also, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 8,300 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total value of $100,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 160,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,954,619.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,500 shares of company stock worth $272,866 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of shares are currently owned by insiders.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

EFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities cut their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.85.

Get the latest report on EFC

Ellington Financial Profile

(Free report)

Ellington Financial Inc, through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages financial assets related to mortgage, consumer, corporate and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by jumbo prime, Alt-A, manufactured housing and subprime mortgages; RMBS for which principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the US

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