Short Interest in Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Increases By 39.0%

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,356,062 shares, a growth of 39.0% from the March 15th total of 4,571,267 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,378,431 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 5.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 15.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 179,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the second quarter worth $176,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the second quarter worth $166,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 16.6% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 27,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the second quarter worth $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFC has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.56.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:EFC opened at $12.69 on Friday. Ellington Financial has a 52 week low of $11.27 and a 52 week high of $14.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.26 and a 200 day moving average of $13.12. The company has a quick ratio of 47.25, a current ratio of 47.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.94.

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 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 company had revenue of $96.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $132.07 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders 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 12.3%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.83%.

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.