Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.56.

Ellington Financial Price Performance

Ellington Financial stock opened at $13.62 on Friday. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.27 and a 12-month high of $14.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.18, a current ratio of 41.03 and a quick ratio of 47.25.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $171.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.09 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 72.08% and a return on equity of 15.81%. Equities analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.98%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 11.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 220,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 23,300 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 810,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,609,000 after purchasing an additional 97,007 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.4% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 55,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 120.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 44,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 24,470 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 13.3% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 18,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

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.