Delphi Financial Group Inc. Invests $995,000 in Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN)

Key Points

• Delphi Financial Group Inc. invested approximately $995,000 in Ellington Credit Company by purchasing 184,000 shares, making it the 18th largest position in their portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Ellington Credit is increasing, with Wells Fargo and others significantly raising their stakes, leading to over 20% institutional ownership in the company.
• Ellington Credit's dividend of $0.08 per share is set to be paid on August 29, representing a remarkable dividend yield of 1,630.0%.

Delphi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 184,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $995,000. Ellington Credit accounts for 0.6% of Delphi Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Delphi Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Ellington Credit as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 16.3% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,203 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 1,107.9% in the first quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC now owns 180,672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 165,714 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,401 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 7,801 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Ellington Credit Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE EARN traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $5.68. 84,309 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 577,764. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.79 and a 200 day moving average of $5.80. Ellington Credit Company has a twelve month low of $4.32 and a twelve month high of $7.11. The company has a market capitalization of $213.15 million, a P/E ratio of -43.65 and a beta of 1.29.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.01). Ellington Credit had a positive return on equity of 17.67% and a negative net margin of 21.82%. The company had revenue of $9.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -738.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on EARN. UBS Group increased their price target on Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Ellington Credit 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.