Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,356,062 shares, an increase of 39.0% from the March 15th total of 4,571,267 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,378,431 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 35.3% in the 4th 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. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Financial by 535.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. 55.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ellington Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:EFC traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $12.80. 835,451 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,839,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.94. Ellington Financial has a 52-week low of $11.27 and a 52-week high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.02, a current ratio of 47.25 and a quick ratio of 47.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.12.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $96.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.07 million. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 53.10% and a return on equity of 14.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 126.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EFC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.56.

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.