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

Shares of 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 target on Ellington Credit in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ellington Credit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.25.

Ellington Credit Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $197.19 million, a P/E ratio of 65.63 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.46.

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

Ellington Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Ellington Credit’s payout ratio is currently 1,200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ellington Credit

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ellington Credit by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 13.7% in the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ellington Credit by 6.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 4,675 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Ellington Credit during the second quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ellington Credit by 109.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 36,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 18,967 shares during the period. 20.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ellington Credit Company Profile

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.