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

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.5625.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EFC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Ellington Financial stock opened at $11.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.18. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.12. The company has a current ratio of 47.25, a quick ratio of 47.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.02.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.03. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 77.32%.The firm had revenue of $96.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.07 million. Equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.83%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 11,684 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $149,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 4th quarter worth $352,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 228.0% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 103,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 72,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $646,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Financial

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.