Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report)'s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.83 and traded as low as $6.58. Ellington Credit shares last traded at $6.67, with a volume of 543,373 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Ellington Credit from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Ellington Credit Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $198.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.83.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 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 $4.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 282,600 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the third quarter worth approximately $1,412,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit during the third quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 47,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC purchased a new position in Ellington Credit during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $334,000. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.