Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) from a "sell" to a "hold" in a research note published Saturday.
• Recent quarter missed expectations: EARN reported $0.21 EPS vs. $0.24 consensus and $11.12M revenue vs. $12.71M, while the stock trades around $4.56 (12‑month range $4.27–$6.08) and carries a consensus target price of $5.75.
• Business profile and ownership: The closed‑end fund primarily invests in RMBS and ABS (with some CMBS), uses leverage and derivatives to manage income, and has roughly 20.4% institutional ownership with several firms taking small recent stakes.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Credit in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.75.

Ellington Credit Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE EARN opened at $4.56 on Friday. Ellington Credit has a 12 month low of $4.27 and a 12 month high of $6.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.90 and a 200-day moving average of $5.18. The company has a market cap of $171.13 million, a PE ratio of -11.11 and a beta of 1.29.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.03). Ellington Credit had a positive return on equity of 16.47% and a negative net margin of 34.31%.The firm had revenue of $11.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ellington Credit during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 109.1% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 18,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.40% of the company's stock.

About Ellington Credit

Ellington Credit Income Fund NYSE: EARN is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to generate current income through a diversified portfolio of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. The fund primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS), with additional exposure to commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and related structured credit instruments. To enhance income and manage risk, the fund employs leverage and derivative strategies such as interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, allowing it to adjust duration and credit exposure dynamically.

The fund is externally managed and advised by Ellington Management Group, LLC, an established investment firm specializing in mortgage credit and structured products.

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