Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 370,210 shares, a decline of 50.8% from the September 30th total of 752,067 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 640,420 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Credit

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EARN. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 29.3% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 45,038 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 10,194 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Ellington Credit by 122.4% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 85.8% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 167,250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 77,250 shares during the period. 20.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Shares of EARN stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $3.49. The company had a trading volume of 455,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,234. The firm has a market cap of $133.21 million, a P/E ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.54. Ellington Credit has a twelve month low of $3.22 and a twelve month high of $5.72.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $6.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.57 million.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 27.5%. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -97.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

About Ellington Credit

Ellington Credit Corporation (NYSE:EARN) is a real estate investment trust focused primarily on residential mortgage credit. The company invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage loans and other residential real estate-related assets, with an emphasis on credit-sensitive investments that may offer exposure to different segments of the housing finance market.

Ellington Credit is externally managed by Ellington Residential Mortgage LP, an affiliate of Ellington Management Group.