Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) Shares Cross Below Fifty Day Moving Average of $3.99

Shares of Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.99 and traded as low as $3.46. Great Ajax shares last traded at $3.57, with a volume of 92,082 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities cut Great Ajax from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com cut Great Ajax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a research note on Thursday, March 21st.

Great Ajax Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.73. The company has a market cap of $98.03 million, a P/E ratio of -1.81 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $17.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Great Ajax Corp. will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Great Ajax’s payout ratio is -20.30%.

Institutional Trading of Great Ajax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Almitas Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Great Ajax by 12.1% during the third quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 807,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,201,000 after acquiring an additional 87,413 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Great Ajax during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,817,000. Beach Point Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Great Ajax in the fourth quarter worth $12,051,000. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Great Ajax by 56.8% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 19,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cowen AND Company LLC purchased a new stake in Great Ajax in the third quarter worth $1,309,000. 58.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Great Ajax Company Profile

Great Ajax Corp. operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust. It acquires re-performing and non-performing loans; acquires or originates small balance commercial mortgage loans that are secured by multi-family residential and commercial mixed use retail/residential properties; and invests in single-family and smaller commercial properties.