At a glance
Ellington Financial Inc. is worth $1.51B, about 10 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. It pays a 13.29% dividend yield, and returned $719.9M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −1.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +3.4% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 71.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 33.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 12 months and 22 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Ellington Financial is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT). Instead of owning buildings, it mainly invests in real estate debt. Its focus is residential and commercial mortgage loans. These include non-QM loans (home loans outside federal “qualified mortgage” rules), bridge and fix-and-flip loans, and home equity lines. It also holds mortgage-backed securities, consumer loans and corporate CLOs (securities backed by pools of business loans). The portfolio totaled about $4.9 billion as of December 31, 2025.
EFC profits mainly from the gap between what its assets yield and what it pays to borrow against them. Gains or losses as their values change also count. Borrowing (leverage) magnifies results in both directions, and derivatives hedge some interest rate and credit risk. To keep its REIT tax status, it must pay out at least 90% of its taxable income.
It reports two segments: the Investment Portfolio and Longbridge Financial. Longbridge is a wholly owned subsidiary that originates, services and invests in reverse mortgages, which let older homeowners borrow against home equity without monthly payments. Longbridge packages federally guaranteed home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs) into Ginnie Mae securities and also offers larger “jumbo” reverse loans. The 10-K does not split revenue by segment. EFC is externally managed: an affiliate of Ellington Management Group runs it under contract.
Price history
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EFC -1.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was —, and net income was $54.4M (+26.7%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was — (— year over year) with a null% net margin.
Financial health check
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 6.5% weak |
|---|---|
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 0.6% weak |
| Cash and investments | $247.5M (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | — | $17.2M | $119.4M |
| FY2021 | — | $125.3M | $49.1M |
| FY2022 | — | $-85.3M | $42.5M |
| FY2023 | — | $60.9M | $-241.9M |
| FY2024 | — | $117.8M | $-430.5M |
| FY2025 | — | $118.7M | $-925.5M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $1.51B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 9.9 |
| Dividend yield | 13.29% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Ellington Financial’s market value went from $504.8M at the end of 2016 to $1.51B on Oct 28, 2026, about 3.0 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 4%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $1.51B | +3.8% |
| 2025 | $1.46B | +32.6% |
| 2024 | $1.10B | +26.7% |
| 2023 | $867.3M | +16.0% |
| 2022 | $747.6M | -23.8% |
| 2021 | $981.4M | +51.1% |
| 2020 | $649.7M | +4.9% |
| 2019 | $619.1M | +34.6% |
| 2018 | $460.1M | -0.6% |
| 2017 | $463.0M | -8.3% |
| 2016 | $504.8M |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFC price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -5.4% | -1.1% | +12.5% | +3.4% | +8.7% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -5.4% |
| 2025 | +26.0% |
| 2024 | +8.7% |
| 2023 | +18.1% |
| 2022 | -18.3% |
| 2021 | +26.3% |
| 2020 | -9.8% |
| 2019 | +32.4% |
| 2018 | +17.3% |
| 2017 | +4.3% |
| 2016 | +3.5% |
| 2015 | -4.6% |
| 2014 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | +18.1% |
| 2012 | +47.0% |
| 2011 | -13.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 71.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 71.6%, back to its old high 12.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 27.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 33.9%, back to its old high 22.2 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (9 read): 0 open-market purchases and 0 sales ($0.00).
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 16.4% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.98% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in EFC
| SRET Global X SuperDividend REIT ETF | 3.31% |
| MORT VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF | 3.27% |
| HIPS GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF | 2.75% |
| XSHD Invesco S&P SmallCap High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | 2.68% |
| REM iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF | 2.64% |
| KBWD Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial ETF | 2.64% |
| HSMV First Trust Horizon Managed Volatility Small/Mid ETF | 1.83% |
| XSVM Invesco S&P SmallCap Value with Momentum ETF | 1.18% |
What could go wrong
- Longbridge's reverse mortgage funding and rule risks. Longbridge must keep funding later borrower draws on reverse mortgages it has pooled and follow Federal Housing Administration rules. Funding strains, weaker prices for its Ginnie Mae securities or program changes could hurt results.
- Many loans and bonds lack any guarantee. Its residential whole loans, private-label mortgage securities and credit risk transfer bonds are not guaranteed by anyone. Defaults or falling property values hit EFC directly, especially on lower-rated, second-lien and loosely underwritten holdings.
- Borrowing magnifies losses and can force sales. EFC relies on leverage, including repo loans (short-term borrowing secured by its assets). If lenders demand more collateral or cut credit in a market shock, EFC may have to unload assets at poor prices.
- Heavy reliance on Ellington and outside servicers. EFC's manager has no employees and depends on Ellington's staff and systems. EFC also relies on outside mortgage servicers it does not control. Poor servicing or system failures could reduce cash flows.
- Interest rate moves can hurt both ways. Rising rates can push borrowing costs up faster than asset income and lower the value of its holdings. Falling rates can speed up mortgage prepayments, shrinking expected cash flows from mortgage securities and servicing rights.
- Hard-to-value assets and model errors. Many holdings rarely trade, so EFC values them using models and estimates. Those values can swing quickly and may differ from real market prices. Flawed models could also lead to poor investment choices.
Recent events
- Investor presentation or announcement
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- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
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- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement
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For income and retirement investors
EFC's dividend yield (yearly dividends as a share of the price) was about 13.3% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends per share rose from $1.26 in 2020 to $1.64 in 2021 but fell in both 2024 and 2025, so there is no streak of increases. Dividends paid in fiscal 2025 came to about $184 million, roughly 155% of net income, so earnings did not cover the payout. Free cash flow was negative. Share repurchases totaled only about $15 million over 2021–2025. Over a similar period, the share count more than doubled between November 2021 and August 2026.
The shares have fallen hard in market shocks. In the 2020 COVID crash, the price dropped about 72% in about a month and took about 12 months to recover. In the 2022 bear market it fell about 34% and needed about 22 months to regain its old high. A single stock like this carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Ellington Financial make money?
Ellington Financial makes money mainly from the gap between the interest its mortgage loans and securities earn and the cost of the money it borrows to hold them. Gains and losses on those assets also flow into results. Its Longbridge Financial subsidiary adds income from originating, servicing and investing in reverse mortgages. The portfolio totaled about $4.9 billion as of December 31, 2025, with a focus on residential and commercial mortgage loans.
What is EFC's dividend yield?
EFC's dividend yield was about 13.3% as of October 28, 2026. Part of the reason is its structure: as a REIT, it must pay out at least 90% of its taxable income. A yield this high also tends to signal that investors see more risk. In fiscal 2025, dividends paid came to about 155% of net income, so reported earnings did not cover the payout.
Has Ellington Financial cut its dividend?
Yes. Annual dividends per share fell in both 2024 and 2025, so there is no streak of yearly increases. Earlier, dividends per share rose from $1.26 in 2020 to $1.64 in 2021. From fiscal 2021 through 2025, EFC paid about $705 million in dividends but spent only about $15 million on share repurchases. Dividends at mortgage REITs tend to move with earnings, interest rates and financing costs, so further changes are possible.
Who manages Ellington Financial?
EFC is externally managed by Ellington Financial Management LLC, an affiliate of Ellington Management Group, which has invested in mortgage-backed securities for over 30 years. The manager has no employees of its own and relies on Ellington's staff. Laurence Penn is CEO and President. Michael Vranos, Ellington's founder, and Mark Tecotzky are co-chief investment officers. Because of this setup, shareholders depend heavily on one outside firm's people and systems.
How has EFC stock performed?
Returns have been mixed, with deep drops along the way. As of October 28, 2026, EFC returned about 8.7% a year over 10 years and 3.4% a year over five years, but lost about 1.1% over one year. It gained about 26% in 2025 and was down about 5.4% for 2026 through October 28. Its worst decline since listing was about 79%. In the 2020 COVID crash, the price fell about 72% in roughly a month.