Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Key Points

• Ellington Credit reported earnings of $0.18 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.20 by $0.02.
• The company announced a $0.08 monthly dividend with an annualized yield of 16.7%, despite a significant negative dividend payout ratio of -738.46%.
• Shares of Ellington Credit experienced a downgrade from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen, while UBS raised its price target from $5.50 to $5.75, assigning a "neutral" rating.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Ellington Credit had a negative net margin of 21.82% and a positive return on equity of 17.67%.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EARN opened at $5.7550 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.27 and a beta of 1.29. Ellington Credit has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-week high of $7.11.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 16.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -738.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on EARN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Ellington Credit by 485.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 932,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,044,000 after buying an additional 773,169 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 306,192 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ellington Credit by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 126,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 45,845 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ellington Credit by 109.1% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 18,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Ellington Credit during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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