Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Short Interest Update

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) saw a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,588,108 shares, a decline of 25.8% from the December 31st total of 4,833,859 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,873,403 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,873,403 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EFC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.55.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.60. 4,679,819 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,621,219. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.52. The company has a current ratio of 50.60, a quick ratio of 50.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64. Ellington Financial has a 12 month low of $11.12 and a 12 month high of $14.40.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 89.04%.The company had revenue of $242.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.4%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 679.9% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 88,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 76,833 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 18,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $277,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth $2,654,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.