Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from strong-buy to hold, contributing to a more cautious analyst view on the stock.
• The overall analyst consensus now sits at Hold, with one Buy rating and four Hold ratings and a price target of $13.88.
• Ellington Financial recently reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.42 estimate and revenue of $188.83 million versus $114.09 million expected.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ellington Financial from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BTIG Research lowered Ellington Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.88.

Ellington Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE EFC opened at $13.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 42.65, a quick ratio of 42.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.27 and a 12-month high of $14.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $13.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.93.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC - Get Free Report) last released 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. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 72.08%.The company had revenue of $188.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.09 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ellington Financial will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EFC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 5.3% during 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 lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $32,766,000 after acquiring an additional 142,912 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $28,796,000 after acquiring an additional 331,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,566,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,330,000 after acquiring an additional 102,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.62% of the company's stock.

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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