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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.8750.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EFC shares. Zacks Research upgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Ellington Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 267.4% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Ellington Financial by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Down 0.1%

EFC opened at $13.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.07. Ellington Financial has a twelve month low of $11.27 and a twelve month high of $14.12. The company has a quick ratio of 42.65, a current ratio of 42.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 72.08% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The company had revenue of $188.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.09 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.98%.

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.