Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Common stock

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had 22,142,143 and 18,909,874 shares, respectively, of $0.01 par value common stock outstanding with 125,000,000 shares authorized at each year end.

Preferred stock

The Company had no shares of preferred stock outstanding at December 31, 2019 or 2018. There were 25,000,000 shares authorized at each year end.

Treasury stock

As of December 31, 2019 the Company held 33,248 shares of treasury stock received through distributions of the Company's shares previously held by its Manager. The Company held 20,277 treasury stock at December 31, 2018.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

The Company sponsors a dividend reinvestment plan through which stockholders may purchase additional shares of the Company’s common stock by reinvesting some or all of the cash dividends received on shares of the Company’s common stock. During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, 20,107 and 14,953 shares, respectively, were issued under the plan for total proceeds of approximately $0.3 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

At-the-Market Offering

The Company has entered into an equity distribution agreement under which the Company may sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $50.0 million from time to time in any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. During the year ended December 31, 2019, 2,278,518 shares of common stock have been sold under the At-the-Market program for total proceeds of approximately $34.3 million. During the year ended December 31, 2018, no shares were sold under the at-the-market program.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The Company recognizes temporary holding gains or losses on its investment in debt securities as components of Other comprehensive income (loss). Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was as follows ($ in thousands):


	For the year ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Investment in securities:
Unrealized gains	$	1,643	$	250	$	9
Unrealized losses	(366)		(825)		(242)
Income tax related to items of other comprehensive income	—		—		—
Accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss)	$	1,277	$	(575)	$	(233)

Non-controlling Interest

At December 31, 2019, the Company's Operating Partnership was 100% owned by the Company. However, at December 31, 2018, the Operating Partnership was majority-owned by the Company, with 624,106 partnership units held by an unaffiliated third party. The OP units were exchangeable on a 1-for-1 basis with shares of the Company's common stock. During the Company's second quarter of 2019, all of the outstanding OP units held by the unaffiliated holder were exchanged for shares of the Company's common stock, resulting in a reclassification within the Company's Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity of $10.8 million from non-controlling interest to the Additional Paid-in Capital and Common Stock accounts. The Company consolidates the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the Operating Partnership.

At December 31, 2019, the Company had non-controlling interests attributable to ownership interests by three legal entities.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company established AS Ajax E II LLC, to purchase and hold an investment in a Delaware trust which holds single family residential real estate loans, SBC loans and other real estate assets. AS Ajax E II LLC is 46.9% held by third parties. As of December 31, 2019 the Company has retained 53.1% of AS Ajax E II LLC and consolidates the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the entity.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company established 2017-D, a securitization trust, which is 50.0% held by an accredited institutional investor. As of December 31, 2019 the Company has retained 50.0% of 2017-D and consolidates the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the trust.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company established 2018-C, a securitization trust, which is 37.0% held by an accredited institutional investor. As of December 31, 2019 the Company has retained 63.0% of 2018-C and consolidates the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the trust.

During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company established BFLD, to purchase and hold REO property. BFLD was 10.0% held by a third party and 90.0% retained by the Company through its Gaea subsidiary. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company also established DG Brooklyn Holdings, to purchase and hold REO property. DG Brooklyn Holdings was 5.0% held by a third party and 95.0% owned by the Company through Gaea. On November 22, 2019, the Company undertook a private capital raise transaction for Gaea which resulted in the Company's deconsolidation of Gaea. As a result, the Company did not consolidate either BFLD or DG Brooklyn Holdings at December 31, 2019. At December 31, 2019, the Company had a 23.2% interest in Gaea which was accounted for under the equity method.

The following table sets forth the effects of changes in the Company's ownership interest due to transfers to or from non-controlling interest ($ in thousands):


	For the year ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Increase from establishment of 2017-D	$	—	$	—	$	13,793
Increase from establishment of AS Ajax E II	—		—		2,397
Increase from establishment of 2018-C	—		6,685		—
Increase from establishment of BFLD	—		24		—
Decrease from redemption of OP units by third party investor	(10,816)		—		—
Decrease due to deconsolidation of Gaea	(22)		—		—
Change in non-controlling interest	$	(10,838)	$	6,709	$	16,190