Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Update

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 535,400 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the October 15th total of 436,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 394,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Ellington Credit Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:EARN traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.46. The stock had a trading volume of 688,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,239. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.79 and a 200 day moving average of $6.91. The company has a market capitalization of $163.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.87. Ellington Credit has a one year low of $5.54 and a one year high of $7.26.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 226.01% and a return on equity of 17.20%. The business had revenue of $4.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Credit will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.86%. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EARN. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ellington Credit during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the third quarter worth $1,412,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 3.8% during 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 buying an additional 2,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit during the third quarter valued at $170,000. Hedge funds and other 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.