Short Interest in Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Grows By 133.4%

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,274,728 shares, a growth of 133.4% from the February 12th total of 546,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 695,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 695,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Credit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Ellington Credit by 485.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 932,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,044,000 after buying an additional 773,169 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ellington Credit by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 126,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $686,000 after acquiring an additional 45,845 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 415.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 306,192 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EARN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ellington Credit from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.75.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Shares of EARN stock opened at $4.48 on Friday. Ellington Credit has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $6.08. The company has a market capitalization of $168.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.32.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.03). Ellington Credit had a negative net margin of 34.31% and a positive return on equity of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $11.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.71 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 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 21.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio is presently -234.15%.

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.