Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Update

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 866,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on EARN. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.50 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Ellington Credit

In other Ellington Credit news, Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein acquired 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.73 per share, with a total value of $37,840.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the portfolio manager now directly owns 18,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 243.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,839 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429 shares during the period. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in Ellington Credit in the third quarter valued at $334,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ellington Credit by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 269,850 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 47,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Ellington Credit Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of EARN traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.23. The company had a trading volume of 265,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,395. Ellington Credit has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $7.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.36. The stock has a market cap of $196.43 million, a PE ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.74.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $9.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.36%. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio is currently 320.00%.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

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.