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

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

Ellington Credit Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:EARN opened at $4.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $175.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.38 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.33. Ellington Credit has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $6.16.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.03). Ellington Credit had a positive return on equity of 16.47% and a negative net margin of 34.31%.The company had revenue of $11.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.71 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ellington Credit will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 20.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -234.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EARN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $6.00 price target on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ellington Credit from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ellington Credit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delphi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 230.8% in the second quarter. Delphi Financial Group Inc. now owns 608,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after acquiring an additional 424,700 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ellington Credit by 13.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ellington Credit by 109.1% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 18,967 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 104,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 39,392 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 135,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 56,012 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ellington Credit

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.