Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.4583.

Several analysts have commented on EFC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Ellington Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.94 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $11.12 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64, a current ratio of 50.60 and a quick ratio of 50.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $242.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.04% and a return on equity of 14.55%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.2%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EFC. MAS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 22,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 67.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Ellington Financial by 6.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ellington Financial

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.