Insider Buying: Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Portfolio Manager Buys 4,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Gregory Morris Borenstein, the Portfolio Manager of Ellington Credit, acquired 4,000 shares at an average price of $5.62, increasing his stake by 22.22% to a total of 22,000 shares.
• Ellington Credit reported earnings of $0.18 per share for the last quarter, missing expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.08 to be paid on October 31, resulting in a massive dividend yield of 1,700.0%.
• Recent analyst ratings include a downgrade from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen, while UBS Group raised its price target from $5.50 to $5.75, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein acquired 4,000 shares of Ellington Credit stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.62 per share, for a total transaction of $22,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the portfolio manager owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,640. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

Ellington Credit stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.65. 139,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,393. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36 and a beta of 1.31. Ellington Credit Company has a 52-week low of $4.32 and a 52-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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.15 million. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 15.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a yield of 1,700.0%. Ellington Credit's payout ratio is presently 533.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EARN. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 62.5% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased 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 worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on EARN. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ellington Credit from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.13.

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.