Insider Buying: Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Portfolio Manager Buys 3,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Gregory Morris Borenstein, Portfolio Manager of Ellington Credit, purchased 3,000 shares at $5.29 each, totaling $15,870, increasing his stake by 13.64% to 25,000 shares.
• Ellington Credit recently reported a miss on earnings with an EPS of $0.18, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.20, and revenue of $9.87 million compared to expected $12.15 million.
• The company also announced a dividend of $0.08 per share to be paid on October 31st, representing a significant yield of 1,757.0% and a high payout ratio of 533.33%.

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.29 per share, with a total value of $15,870.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the portfolio manager directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,250. The trade was a 13.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Gregory Morris Borenstein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 5th, Gregory Morris Borenstein purchased 4,000 shares of Ellington Credit stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.62 per share, with a total value of $22,480.00.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

NYSE EARN traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5.38. The stock had a trading volume of 237,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,667. The stock has a market cap of $201.89 million, a PE ratio of 29.86 and a beta of 1.33. Ellington Credit Company has a 1 year low of $4.32 and a 1 year high of $7.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.61.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Ellington Credit had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business had revenue of $9.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.15 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,757.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Credit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 533.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 485.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 932,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 773,169 shares during the last quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ellington Credit by 230.8% during the second quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 608,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,500,000 after buying an additional 424,700 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 306,192 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ellington Credit by 21.6% in the second quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 350,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 62,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 186,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 94,900 shares during the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EARN. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Ellington Credit from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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