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

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 322,400 shares, a growth of 101.0% from the June 15th total of 160,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 109,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Ajax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EMG Holdings L.P. boosted its stake in Great Ajax by 608.3% in the 4th quarter. EMG Holdings L.P. now owns 1,940,649 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,285,000 after buying an additional 1,666,666 shares in the last quarter. Beach Point Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Great Ajax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,051,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Ajax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Great Ajax by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 737,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 119,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Great Ajax by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 48,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 14,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AJX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Great Ajax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a research note on Thursday, March 21st.

Great Ajax Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Great Ajax stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $3.67. 49,930 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,510. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.49 and its 200 day moving average is $4.11. Great Ajax has a 52-week low of $3.11 and a 52-week high of $7.20. The stock has a market cap of $145.19 million, a P/E ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Great Ajax’s payout ratio is currently -5.96%.

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.