Insider Buying: Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Portfolio Manager Acquires 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 purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.62 per share, with a total value of $22,480.00. Following the transaction, the portfolio manager owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at $123,640. The trade was a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

EARN stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.64. 266,970 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,306. The stock has a market cap of $211.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33 and a beta of 1.31. Ellington Credit Company has a 1 year low of $4.32 and a 1 year high of $7.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.69.

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

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1,700.0%. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 boosted 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ellington Credit in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $90,000. Institutional investors own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ellington Credit from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Credit has an average 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.

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