Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Great Ajax (NYSE:AJX) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Great Ajax in a research note on Friday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $9.88.

Great Ajax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJX opened at $4.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Great Ajax has a 52 week low of $4.08 and a 52 week high of $9.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.63 and its 200 day moving average is $6.05. The company has a market cap of $125.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 1.88.

Great Ajax Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. Great Ajax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -31.21%.

Institutional Trading of Great Ajax

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AJX. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Great Ajax in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,817,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Great Ajax by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,315,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,882,000 after buying an additional 269,557 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Great Ajax by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 623,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,309,000 after buying an additional 251,443 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Great Ajax by 487.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 276,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,655,000 after buying an additional 229,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cowen AND Company LLC purchased a new position in Great Ajax in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,309,000. Institutional investors own 58.60% of the company’s stock.

About Great Ajax

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.