Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Position in Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,253,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 111,539 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $17,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 18.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 18,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 26,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research lowered Ellington Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $13.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.05. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.27 and a 1-year high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.39, a current ratio of 52.06 and a quick ratio of 52.06.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 52.43%.The firm had revenue of $134.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.59 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 95.12%.

Ellington Financial Profile

Ellington Financial, Inc (NYSE: EFC) is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns through investments in residential and commercial mortgage-related assets. Established in 2013, the company is externally managed by Ellington Financial Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Ellington Management Group, an alternative asset management firm. EFC’s core strategy centers on actively acquiring and managing agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS), mortgage servicing rights, residential whole loans, and other structured finance instruments, including asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

The company employs leverage and structured financing tools—such as repurchase agreements and secured credit facilities—to enhance portfolio yield while maintaining focus on risk mitigation.