Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after JonesTrading lowered their price target on the stock from $14.50 to $13.00. JonesTrading currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ellington Financial traded as low as $11.15 and last traded at $11.3130, with a volume of 191,603 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.49.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Ellington Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Ellington Financial from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ellington Financial from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ellington Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.83.

Ellington Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ellington Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable December 31 to holders of record November 30. That equals $1.56 annualized, or about a 13.6% yield at the cited share price, and may appeal to income-focused investors. Dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: JonesTrading cut its price target from $14.50 to $13.00 but maintained a Buy rating, implying 13.1% upside from $11.49. The lower target is a headwind, though the continued Buy stance is supportive. JonesTrading recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Ellington is looking to expand non-QM mortgage servicing through a recent acquisition. The reported strategic direction could create growth opportunities, but the article details provided do not quantify the expected impact. Non-QM servicing growth
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results fell short of analyst expectations: earnings were reported at $0.45 per share versus a $0.47 consensus, while revenue of $117.72 million trailed the $125.83 million estimate. The earnings release also reported $0.31 of net income per common share. The misses may be contributing to pressure on the stock. Q3 2026 results

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 28,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 10,823 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 112,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 29,300 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $358,000. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 41.7% in the third quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 21,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 6,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.39, a quick ratio of 52.06 and a current ratio of 52.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.85.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.02). Ellington Financial had a net margin of 41.95% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $117.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.83 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.98%.

Ellington Financial Company Profile

Ellington Financial Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, invests in and manages a portfolio of mortgage-related and other financial assets. The company focuses primarily on residential and commercial mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities and related investments.

Its investment activities may include agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential and commercial mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and consumer loans.