Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Update

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 96.3% from the March 15th total of 662,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 866,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ellington Credit Stock Up 3.4 %

EARN traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.33. 586,352 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,985. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.37. The stock has a market cap of $200.00 million, a P/E ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 1.74. Ellington Credit has a fifty-two week low of $4.33 and a fifty-two week high of $7.26.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 226.01%. The business had revenue of $6.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is 320.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EARN shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ellington Credit from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein acquired 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $37,840.00. Following the acquisition, the portfolio manager now directly owns 18,000 shares in the company, valued at $85,140. The trade was a 80.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 56,104,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,122,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,428,000 after buying an additional 1,122,092 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 570.4% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 481,669 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,189,000 after buying an additional 409,817 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 304,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 34,779 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ellington Credit by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 235,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 33,040 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 195,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 51,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

About Ellington Credit

Ellington Credit Company, a real estate investment trust, acquires, invests in, and manages residential mortgage-and real estate-related assets. It acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including agency pools and agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs); and non-agency RMBS, such as non-agency CMOs, such as investment grade and non-investment grade.