Insider Buying: Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Portfolio Manager Acquires 4,000 Shares of Stock

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) Portfolio Manager Gregory Morris Borenstein bought 4,000 shares of Ellington Credit stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.62 per share, with a total value of $22,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the portfolio manager owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,640. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ellington Credit Stock Performance

Ellington Credit stock opened at $5.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.40 million, a P/E ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.68. Ellington Credit Company has a 1 year low of $4.32 and a 1 year high of $7.11.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.15 million. Ellington Credit had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 15.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a sep 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1,700.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 533.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Ellington Credit by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 109,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 49,062 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ellington Credit during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $369,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 177.5% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 73,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 47,151 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter worth approximately $197,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ellington Credit during the fourth quarter worth $97,000. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ellington Credit from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ellington Credit from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.13.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

Ellington Credit Company, a real estate investment trust, acquires, invests in, and manages residential mortgage-and real estate-related assets. It acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including agency pools and agency collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs); and non-agency RMBS, such as non-agency CMOs, such as investment grade and non-investment grade.