Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.50 and traded as high as $14.03. Ellington Financial shares last traded at $14.03, with a volume of 1,796,638 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EFC shares. Zacks Research cut Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.73 and a 200-day moving average of $13.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.64, a quick ratio of 50.60 and a current ratio of 50.60.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million. Ellington Financial had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 89.04%. Research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial Inc. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.1%. Ellington Financial’s payout ratio is presently 116.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,653,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,364,000 after buying an additional 449,074 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $4,997,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial during the third quarter worth $4,941,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Ellington Financial by 17.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,218,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 331,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ellington Financial during the third quarter valued at $3,718,000. Hedge funds and other 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.