SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 10,391 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 36.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,391 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,899,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,228,000 after buying an additional 171,445 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,187,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,422,000 after acquiring an additional 77,047 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 worth $14,797,000 after acquiring an additional 22,979 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 10,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 717,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 46,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.5%

EFC opened at $13.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 1.01. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.27.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 89.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 11.2%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 116.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Jones Trading raised Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald I. Simon purchased 5,544 shares of Ellington Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.56 per share, with a total value of $75,176.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 80,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,800. The trade was a 7.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.