Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.46 and traded as low as $5.22. Ellington Credit shares last traded at $5.25, with a volume of 309,618 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EARN. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ellington Credit has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.25.

Ellington Credit Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.37 and a 200-day moving average of $5.45. The company has a market capitalization of $197.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.63 and a beta of 1.27.

Ellington Credit (NYSE:EARN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.41 million. Ellington Credit had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.41%. On average, research analysts expect that Ellington Credit Company will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Ellington Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.3%. Ellington Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ellington Credit by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Ellington Credit in the second quarter worth about $83,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Ellington Credit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ellington Credit by 109.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 18,967 shares during the period. 20.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.