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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.0833.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EFC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of EFC stock opened at $13.40 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.27 and a 12-month high of $14.12. The company has a current ratio of 42.65, a quick ratio of 42.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.94.

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 business had revenue of $188.83 million during 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.