Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 229,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 207,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 180,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Great Ajax Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AJX opened at $3.63 on Wednesday. Great Ajax has a 12-month low of $3.30 and a 12-month high of $7.20. The stock has a market cap of $99.68 million, a PE ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.08 and a 200-day moving average of $4.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $17.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Great Ajax will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.02%. Great Ajax’s payout ratio is -20.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJX shares. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Great Ajax in a report on Thursday, March 21st. JMP Securities cut Great Ajax from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Great Ajax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Ajax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Great Ajax by 194.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3,205 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Great Ajax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Simplex Trading LLC raised its position in shares of Great Ajax by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 5,946 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,518 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Great Ajax in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Ajax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 58.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.