Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley reissued a buy rating and set a $6.00 target price (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Great Ajax from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th.

Great Ajax Trading Up 5.2 %

AJX stock opened at $3.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.62 million, a PE ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 1.88. Great Ajax has a 12 month low of $3.30 and a 12 month high of $7.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $4.53 and its 200 day moving average is $5.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.99.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $17.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Great Ajax will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Great Ajax’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.30%.

Institutional Trading of Great Ajax

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Beach Point Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Great Ajax in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,051,000. EMG Holdings L.P. boosted its stake in Great Ajax by 608.3% in the 4th quarter. EMG Holdings L.P. now owns 1,940,649 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,666 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Great Ajax by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,378,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,450,000 after purchasing an additional 41,838 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Great Ajax by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,103,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,847,000 after purchasing an additional 18,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC boosted its stake in Great Ajax by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 807,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,201,000 after purchasing an additional 87,413 shares in the last quarter. 58.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Great Ajax Company Profile

Great Ajax Corp. operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust. It acquires re-performing and non-performing loans; acquires or originates small balance commercial mortgage loans that are secured by multi-family residential and commercial mixed use retail/residential properties; and invests in single-family and smaller commercial properties.