Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.5625.

EFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Ellington Financial stock opened at $12.95 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.26 and a 200 day moving average of $13.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.94. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.27 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.03. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 53.10% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $96.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.07 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the first quarter valued at $158,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 26,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 11,684 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $149,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 72,287 shares in the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.