Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Shares Pass Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.20 and traded as low as $4.39. Ellington Credit shares last traded at $4.4250, with a volume of 434,675 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EARN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Ellington Credit from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Ellington Credit in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.75.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.24 million, a P/E ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 1.29.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $12.71 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 21.7%. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio is -234.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 485.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 932,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 773,169 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $686,000 after buying an additional 45,845 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 415.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 306,192 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Ellington Credit in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Ellington Credit by 109.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 18,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.