Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Share Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.46 and traded as low as $5.22. Ellington Credit shares last traded at $5.25, with a volume of 309,618 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ellington Credit Stock Up 0.8%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.37 and a 200 day moving average of $5.46. The firm has a market cap of $197.19 million, a P/E ratio of 65.63 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 18.3%. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EARN. Delphi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 230.8% during the second quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 608,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 424,700 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 62.5% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 14.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

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.