B. Riley Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for EFC

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) – Investment analysts at B. Riley increased their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Ellington Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, November 11th. B. Riley analyst T. D’agostino now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $1.83 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.75. The consensus estimate for Ellington Financial’s current full-year earnings is $1.38 per share. B. Riley also issued estimates for Ellington Financial’s FY2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS.

EFC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jones Trading raised shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research cut Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

NYSE EFC traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $13.72. The company had a trading volume of 75,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,670. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.21. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a current ratio of 46.78 and a quick ratio of 46.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.01.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. The company had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald I. Simon purchased 5,544 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.56 per share, for a total transaction of $75,176.64. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 80,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,800. This represents a 7.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFC. MAS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 22,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Ellington Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Ellington Financial by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 46,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

Ellington Financial Inc, through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, manufactured housing, and subprime mortgage; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S.