Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.39 and traded as high as $13.98. Ellington Financial shares last traded at $13.7550, with a volume of 1,158,962 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.39. The company has a quick ratio of 50.60, a current ratio of 50.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.95.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. The firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 116.42%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. Amundi bought a new stake in Ellington Financial in the first quarter worth $6,418,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,653,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,364,000 after purchasing an additional 449,074 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,997,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,941,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ellington Financial by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,218,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 331,934 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.