M&T Bank Corp Acquires 55,622 Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. $EFC

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) by 453.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,622 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ellington Financial were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EFC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,653,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,364,000 after acquiring an additional 449,074 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $4,997,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $4,941,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 17.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,218,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after acquiring an additional 331,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $3,718,000. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC stock opened at $13.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.11. Ellington Financial Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.27 and a 12 month high of $14.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 47.25, a quick ratio of 47.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.02.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.03. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 53.10%.The firm had revenue of $96.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.07 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.56.

Ellington Financial Company 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.