Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Ellington Financial, with four hold ratings and one buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $13.875, slightly above the reported $13.55 opening price.
• Ellington Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.55 in EPS versus the $0.42 consensus estimate and revenue of $188.83 million compared with $114.09 million expected.
• The mortgage REIT declared a monthly $0.13-per-share dividend, equivalent to an 11.5% annualized yield, while hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the stock.

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.8750.

EFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ellington Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ellington Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Ellington Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

EFC stock opened at $13.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.53 and a 200-day moving average of $13.04. 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 42.65, a quick ratio of 42.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.93.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $188.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.09 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 72.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Ellington Financial's dividend payout ratio is 93.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFC. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Ellington Financial by 267.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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