Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Great Ajax Corp. (NYSE:AJX) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 180,500 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the October 15th total of 147,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 118,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Great Ajax in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Great Ajax Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AJX traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 201,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,677. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Great Ajax has a 52 week low of $2.98 and a 52 week high of $6.01. The stock has a market cap of $138.08 million, a P/E ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.90.

Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $12.35 million during the quarter. Great Ajax had a negative net margin of 203.61% and a negative return on equity of 8.35%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.25) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Great Ajax will post -2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Ajax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Great Ajax’s dividend payout ratio is currently -6.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Great Ajax in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,501,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Great Ajax by 18.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,332,822 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,758,000 after buying an additional 848,688 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Great Ajax by 42.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 460,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 137,578 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Great Ajax by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,217,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,625,000 after acquiring an additional 114,046 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Great Ajax by 321.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 91,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 69,477 shares in the last quarter. 58.60% of the stock is 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.