BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 22.9% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 81,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 15,190 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 5.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,040,000 after acquiring an additional 41,669 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $695,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ellington Financial

In other news, CIO Michael W. Vranos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.48, for a total value of $174,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 168,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,120.32. This represents a 7.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC stock opened at $12.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.58. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $13.46. The company has a current ratio of 37.04, a quick ratio of 37.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.87. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.97.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 10.26% and a net margin of 106.40%. The company had revenue of $33.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 119.08%.

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.