Ellington Credit Company $EARN Shares Purchased by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) by 103.8% in the first quarter, ultimately owning 186,300 shares worth approximately $1,008,000.
• Analysts have adjusted price targets for Ellington Credit, with UBS Group raising its target to $5.75 while maintaining a "neutral" rating, and a consensus price target set at $6.13.
• Ellington Credit Company recently announced a $0.08 monthly dividend, which represents an impressive yield of 16.7%, with a high payout ratio of 533.33%.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN - Free Report) by 103.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 186,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 94,900 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned approximately 0.50% of Ellington Credit worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EARN. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Ellington Credit by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 90,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 7,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Ellington Credit by 211.0% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 14,016 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Ellington Credit Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of EARN stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.66. 544,061 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,853. The firm has a market cap of $212.40 million, a P/E ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.70. Ellington Credit Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.32 and a fifty-two week high of $7.11.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.15 million. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 19.24%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 17.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio is currently 533.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.13.

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.