Short Interest in Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) Expands By 13.3%

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 147,600 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the September 30th total of 130,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 117,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Great Ajax in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Ajax

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Great Ajax by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Ajax during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Great Ajax during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Great Ajax by 321.3% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 91,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 69,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Great Ajax by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,217,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,625,000 after buying an additional 114,046 shares during the last quarter. 58.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Great Ajax Trading Up 0.6 %

AJX traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $3.13. 65,015 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,924. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3.29 and its 200-day moving average is $3.44. The company has a market cap of $123.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.90. Great Ajax has a twelve month low of $2.98 and a twelve month high of $6.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $12.35 million during the quarter. Great Ajax had a negative net margin of 181.85% and a negative return on equity of 6.68%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.25) EPS.

Great Ajax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Great Ajax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -5.96%.

Great Ajax Company Profile

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.