Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 395,300 shares, a decline of 39.7% from the April 30th total of 655,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 760,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EARN. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Ellington Credit from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective 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, April 17th.

Insider Activity

In other Ellington Credit news, Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein bought 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.73 per share, for a total transaction of $37,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the portfolio manager now owns 18,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,140. The trade was a 80.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Ellington Credit by 56,104,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,122,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,428,000 after buying an additional 1,122,092 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 773,169 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 570.4% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 481,669 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 409,817 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 415.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 306,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delphi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ellington Credit during the first quarter valued at approximately $995,000. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Credit Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE EARN traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5.56. 262,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,153. Ellington Credit has a 12 month low of $4.33 and a 12 month high of $7.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.64 million, a PE ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.11.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $9.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.35 million. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 226.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.28%. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio is presently -738.46%.

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.