Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Short Interest Up 50.8% in February

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 546,100 shares, a growth of 50.8% from the January 29th total of 362,079 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 442,007 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 442,007 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Ellington Credit Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:EARN opened at $4.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $183.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.20 and a beta of 1.27. Ellington Credit has a 12 month low of $4.32 and a 12 month high of $6.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.38.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.6%. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is 1,200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EARN. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ellington Credit during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Ellington Credit during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Ellington Credit by 13.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Ellington Credit in the 4th quarter worth about $115,000. 20.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ellington Credit from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.25.

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.