Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.41%.The company had revenue of $11.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 million.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EARN traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.97. The stock had a trading volume of 362,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,286. The firm has a market cap of $186.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.13 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.37. Ellington Credit has a twelve month low of $4.32 and a twelve month high of $6.46.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is currently 1,200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EARN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group set a $6.00 target price on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Credit from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.25.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EARN. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 485.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 932,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,044,000 after acquiring an additional 773,169 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 306,192 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 56.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 126,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 45,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 60.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 104,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 39,392 shares in the last quarter. 20.40% of the stock is owned by 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.