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

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.0833.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter worth $226,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 234.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,366,000 after purchasing an additional 376,528 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 74,135 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Ellington Financial by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 5,788 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the 1st quarter worth $1,284,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC opened at $13.59 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a current ratio of 42.65 and a quick ratio of 42.65. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $11.27 and a 1-year high of $14.12.

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, equities analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.