MAS Advisors LLC Increases Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

MAS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the period. MAS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 150.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ellington Financial by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $163,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 13,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC opened at $13.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.19. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.88 and a 52 week high of $13.47. The company has a quick ratio of 73.16, a current ratio of 73.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 103.55%. The business had revenue of $33.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 243.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ellington Financial news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.12, for a total transaction of $71,508.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 179,655 shares in the company, valued at $2,177,418.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three 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, Ellington Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.85.

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.