Short Interest in Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Grows By 7.4%

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 716,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the November 15th total of 666,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 411,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Ellington Credit Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE EARN traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $6.56. 473,412 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 337,364. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.72 and a 200-day moving average of $6.87. The stock has a market cap of $188.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.86. Ellington Credit has a 52 week low of $5.54 and a 52 week high of $7.26.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 226.01%. The business had revenue of $4.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 3.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 79,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 2,895 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Ellington Credit by 243.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ellington Credit in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the third quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Barclays PLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the third quarter worth $334,000. Institutional investors own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.