Brokerages Set Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) PT at $13.88

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.8750.

EFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Ellington Financial from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 267.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Ellington Financial by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFC traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $13.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 564,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,370,139. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.07. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $11.27 and a 52-week high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a current ratio of 42.65 and a quick ratio of 42.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.93.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 72.08% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The business had revenue of $188.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.