Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Shares Pass Below 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.25 and traded as low as $4.27. Ellington Credit shares last traded at $4.37, with a volume of 494,296 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.29.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.71 million. Analysts forecast that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 22.0%. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is -234.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 18,967 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.