Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Update

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) was the recipient of 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. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 866,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

EARN traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.33. 586,352 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,985. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.00 million, a PE 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $6.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.65 million. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 226.01% and a return on equity of 15.81%. Research analysts forecast that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ellington Credit

In other Ellington Credit news, Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein purchased 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.73 per share, for a total transaction of $37,840.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the portfolio manager now directly owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,140. This represents a 80.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.