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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.0833.

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

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC stock opened at $13.40 on Tuesday. Ellington Financial has a 1 year low of $11.27 and a 1 year high of $14.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a quick ratio of 42.65 and a current ratio of 42.65.

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

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. 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.