Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) Short Interest Update

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 229,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 207,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 180,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AJX shares. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JMP Securities lowered shares of Great Ajax from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Great Ajax from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Great Ajax Stock Performance

AJX traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3.77. The company had a trading volume of 61,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,842. The stock has a market cap of $103.52 million, a PE ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.83. Great Ajax has a 12-month low of $3.30 and a 12-month high of $7.20.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $17.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Great Ajax will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.61%. Great Ajax's dividend payout ratio is currently -20.30%.

Institutional Trading of Great Ajax

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AJX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Great Ajax by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,103,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,847,000 after purchasing an additional 18,421 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Great Ajax during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Great Ajax by 310.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,076 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 25,014 shares in the last quarter. Cannell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Great Ajax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,716,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Great Ajax by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,334 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,065,000 after buying an additional 156,409 shares during the period. 58.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Great Ajax

Great Ajax Corp. operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust. It acquires re-performing and non-performing loans; acquires or originates small balance commercial mortgage loans that are secured by multi-family residential and commercial mixed use retail/residential properties; and invests in single-family and smaller commercial properties.