Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Up 22.7% in October

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 535,400 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the October 15th total of 436,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 394,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Ellington Credit Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of EARN traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.46. 688,635 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,239. Ellington Credit has a 52-week low of $5.54 and a 52-week high of $7.26. The company has a market cap of $163.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.91.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 226.01%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ellington Credit will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.86%. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ellington Credit from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EARN. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 78.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 642,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,465,000 after purchasing an additional 282,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ellington Credit by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 269,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after buying an additional 47,998 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ellington Credit in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,412,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 79,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 3rd quarter worth about $468,000. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

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.