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

Ellington Credit Company (NYSE:EARN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 546,100 shares, an increase of 50.8% from the January 29th total of 362,079 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 442,007 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 442,007 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Ellington Credit

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 773,169 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 56.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 126,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 45,845 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ellington Credit by 415.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 379,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,055,000 after buying an additional 306,192 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ellington Credit by 14.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 8,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EARN has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ellington Credit from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group set a $6.00 price target on shares of Ellington Credit in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. 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, Ellington Credit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.25.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EARN opened at $4.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.86 million, a P/E ratio of 61.20 and a beta of 1.27. Ellington Credit has a 1-year low of $4.32 and a 1-year high of $6.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.38.

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

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

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.