Members Trust Co Takes $129,000 Position in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)

Members Trust Co bought a new stake in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFC. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $163,000. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 763.2% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 107,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 95,051 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,879,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,625,000 after buying an additional 45,979 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,968,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:EFC traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $12.59. The stock had a trading volume of 421,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,933. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.84, a current ratio of 73.16 and a quick ratio of 73.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.35. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.88 and a 12-month high of $13.46.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 103.55% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $33.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 243.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the 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.