Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 2,688,840 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous session’s volume of 1,752,579 shares.The stock last traded at $13.2460 and had previously closed at $13.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EFC. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.55.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64, a current ratio of 50.60 and a quick ratio of 50.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.95.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.04% and a return on equity of 14.55%. Research analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is 116.42%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 717,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 46,288 shares during the last quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 28.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 721,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,376,000 after buying an additional 161,700 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ellington Financial by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,187,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,422,000 after buying an additional 77,047 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $271,000. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.