Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Up 8.7% in January

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 844,500 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the December 31st total of 776,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 451,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

NYSE:EARN opened at $6.59 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.77. Ellington Credit has a 1-year low of $5.54 and a 1-year high of $7.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.15 million, a P/E ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 1.85.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 226.01% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ellington Credit during the third quarter valued at $1,412,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the third quarter worth about $170,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 21.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 269,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,885,000 after buying an additional 47,998 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the third quarter worth about $334,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 243.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 3,429 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ellington Credit from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

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.