Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) Short Interest Update

02 Feb 2026, 05:18 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,588,108 shares, a decline of 25.8% from the December 31st total of 4,833,859 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,873,403 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,873,403 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in Ellington Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 52,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 1,303 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ellington Financial by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Financial by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 138,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 54,051 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ellington Financial by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,003,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,101,000 after acquiring an additional 349,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Ellington Financial by 453.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 67,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 55,622 shares during the period. 55.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Financial Trading Down 4.9%

EFC traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,245,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,342,676. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 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 has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 week high of $14.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.53.

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 89.04% and a return on equity of 14.55%. The business had revenue of $242.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.99 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Ellington Financial will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.2%. Ellington Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ellington Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Ellington Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ellington Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.55.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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).