Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Shares Bought by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 18.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Ellington Financial worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 56,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 14.6% during the first quarter. CenterStar Asset Management LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 196,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ellington Financial from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jones Trading upgraded 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. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.29.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC stock opened at $13.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.93. The company has a quick ratio of 42.26, a current ratio of 46.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96.

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

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.