Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $13.07 and traded as high as $13.82. Ellington Financial shares last traded at $13.6550, with a volume of 1,286,350 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.08.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a quick ratio of 42.65 and a current ratio of 42.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.07.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $188.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.09 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 72.08%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFC. Amundi grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,497,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,334,000 after buying an additional 773,291 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,653,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,364,000 after buying an additional 449,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $6,080,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 263.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 593,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,036,000 after acquiring an additional 430,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial in the third quarter worth $4,941,000. 55.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.