Financial Review: Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) and Mobile Infrastructure (NASDAQ:BEEP)

Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC) and Mobile Infrastructure (NASDAQ:BEEP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Ellington Financial has a beta of 1.97, indicating that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mobile Infrastructure has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ellington Financial and Mobile Infrastructure’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ellington Financial	$282.97 million	3.92	$84.81 million	$0.64	20.36
Mobile Infrastructure	$34.05 million	3.00	-$25.12 million	N/A	N/A

Ellington Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Mobile Infrastructure.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.6% of Ellington Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of Mobile Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of Ellington Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 46.2% of Mobile Infrastructure shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ellington Financial and Mobile Infrastructure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ellington Financial	103.55%	9.76%	0.75%
Mobile Infrastructure	-74.35%	-3.08%	-1.49%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ellington Financial and Mobile Infrastructure, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ellington Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67
Mobile Infrastructure	0	0	0	0	N/A

Ellington Financial currently has a consensus price target of $13.85, suggesting a potential upside of 6.29%. Given Ellington Financial’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ellington Financial is more favorable than Mobile Infrastructure.

Summary

Ellington Financial beats Mobile Infrastructure on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. government agency or the U.S. government-sponsored entity; residential mortgage loans; commercial mortgage-backed securities; and commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt. It also provides collateralized loan obligations; mortgage-related and non-mortgage-related derivatives; corporate debt and equity securities; corporate loans; and other strategic investments; and consumer loans and asset-backed securities backed by consumer and commercial assets. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it intends to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends to shareholders. Ellington Financial LLC was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

About Mobile Infrastructure

Mobile Infrastructure Corporation is a Maryland corporation. The Company owns a diversified portfolio of parking assets primarily located in the Midwest and Southwest. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned 43 parking facilities in 21 separate markets throughout the United States, with a total of 15,700 parking spaces and approximately 5.4 million square feet. The Company also owns approximately 0.2 million square feet of retail/commercial space adjacent to its parking facilities.