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

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 844,500 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the December 15th total of 776,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 451,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Ellington Credit by 78.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 642,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,465,000 after buying an additional 282,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 21.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 269,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 47,998 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 235,395 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 33,040 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 3.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 79,466 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,895 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 3rd quarter worth $468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

Shares of EARN traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $6.61. The stock had a trading volume of 460,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,128. Ellington Credit has a 52-week low of $5.54 and a 52-week high of $7.26. The firm has a market cap of $193.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $6.64 and its 200 day moving average is $6.80.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 226.01% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.51%. Ellington Credit's payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Ellington Credit from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

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.