Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Up 37.8% in December

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 495,448 shares, an increase of 37.8% from the November 30th total of 359,652 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 306,505 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 306,505 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

NYSE EARN traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 370,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,278. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.53. The stock has a market cap of $199.63 million, a P/E ratio of 66.45 and a beta of 1.30. Ellington Credit has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $6.86.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $11.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.41 million. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, research analysts expect that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,200.00%.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 13.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ellington Credit by 27.5% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 17,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 3,754 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 6.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 4,675 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ellington Credit in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EARN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Credit from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.25.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

Ellington Credit Income Fund (NYSE: EARN) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to generate current income through a diversified portfolio of mortgage- and asset-backed securities. The fund primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS), with additional exposure to commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and related structured credit instruments. To enhance income and manage risk, the fund employs leverage and derivative strategies such as interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, allowing it to adjust duration and credit exposure dynamically.

The fund is externally managed and advised by Ellington Management Group, LLC, an established investment firm specializing in mortgage credit and structured products.