Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) saw a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,252,174 shares, an increase of 71.0% from the July 15th total of 732,223 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 463,252 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

Shares of Ellington Credit stock traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $4.40. The company had a trading volume of 159,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,396. Ellington Credit has a 52 week low of $4.25 and a 52 week high of $5.89. The company has a market cap of $165.20 million, a PE ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.67.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $6.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 21.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio is -97.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.25 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 122.4% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Ellington Credit during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

Ellington Credit Income Fund (NYSE: EARN) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to generate current income through a diversified portfolio of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. The fund primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS), with additional exposure to commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and related structured credit instruments. To enhance income and manage risk, the fund employs leverage and derivative strategies such as interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, allowing it to adjust duration and credit exposure dynamically.

The fund is externally managed and advised by Ellington Management Group, LLC, an established investment firm specializing in mortgage credit and structured products.