Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 821,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 42,093 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 24,046 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $264,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 156,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 21,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 4,459.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 62,252 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.8%

EFC opened at $13.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.75. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.12 and a 1-year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.11, a current ratio of 42.26 and a quick ratio of 42.26.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $82.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.06 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 101.59%. Analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.93%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EFC. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.75.

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.