Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives $14.46 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.4583.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 67.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 134.4% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 93.9% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 535.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 5,209 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 0.0%

EFC stock opened at $13.73 on Friday. Ellington Financial has a 1-year low of $11.12 and a 1-year high of $14.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.47. The company has a current ratio of 50.60, a quick ratio of 50.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.04% and a return on equity of 14.55%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 116.42%.

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.