B. Riley Expects Stronger Earnings for Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) – Equities researchers at B. Riley upped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Ellington Financial in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 11th. B. Riley analyst T. D’agostino now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $1.83 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $1.75. The consensus estimate for Ellington Financial’s current full-year earnings is $1.38 per share. B. Riley also issued estimates for Ellington Financial’s FY2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Jones Trading upgraded shares of Ellington Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.25 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ellington Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.46.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:EFC traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.72. 75,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,670. Ellington Financial has a 12-month low of $11.12 and a 12-month high of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.96, a current ratio of 46.78 and a quick ratio of 46.78.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.09. Ellington Financial had a net margin of 89.52% and a return on equity of 13.56%. The business had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EFC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Ellington Financial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 671,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,901,000 after purchasing an additional 29,188 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in Ellington Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,418,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,115,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,797,000 after purchasing an additional 22,979 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 451,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,984,000 after acquiring an additional 11,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald I. Simon bought 5,544 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.56 per share, with a total value of $75,176.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 80,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,800. The trade was a 7.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.42%.

About Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial Inc, through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, manufactured housing, and subprime mortgage; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S.