UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) had its target price upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $14.00 to $14.50 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.34% from the company’s current price.

EFC has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. BTIG Research cut Ellington Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

Shares of EFC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $13.77. The company had a trading volume of 400,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,154. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.51 and a 200-day moving average of $13.01. The company has a quick ratio of 52.06, a current ratio of 52.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.94. Ellington Financial has a 12 month low of $11.27 and a 12 month high of $14.12.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $134.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.59 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 52.43% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $284,144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,003,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,101,000 after buying an additional 349,448 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Ellington Financial by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,779,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,814,000 after buying an additional 196,894 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,412,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,766,000 after acquiring an additional 142,912 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 worth $28,796,000 after acquiring an additional 331,934 shares during the period. 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.