Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EARN. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ellington Credit from $6.50 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Ellington Credit from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Ellington Credit Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Ellington Credit stock opened at $5.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.90 million, a P/E ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.31. Ellington Credit has a 12 month low of $4.33 and a 12 month high of $7.26.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.65 million. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 226.01%. Analysts predict that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ellington Credit

In related news, Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein purchased 8,000 shares of Ellington Credit stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.73 per share, for a total transaction of $37,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the portfolio manager now owns 18,000 shares in the company, valued at $85,140. This trade represents a 80.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 56,104,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,122,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,092 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at $955,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 90,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the third quarter valued at $334,000. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at $744,000. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ellington Credit

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.