OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Ellington Credit Company $EARN

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 boosted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN - Free Report) by 103.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 94,900 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned approximately 0.50% of Ellington Credit worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ellington Credit by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 18,302 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Ellington Credit by 2.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Ellington Credit by 835.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 14,501 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its position in Ellington Credit by 570.4% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 481,669 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,189,000 after buying an additional 409,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Ellington Credit by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 109,569 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 49,062 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EARN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.13.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Ellington Credit stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $5.69. 204,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 553,872. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.53 million, a PE ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 1.31. Ellington Credit Company has a fifty-two week low of $4.32 and a fifty-two week high of $7.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.71.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend 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 533.33%.

About Ellington Credit

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.