E*Trade Financial Corp. said Wednesday loan delinquencies in its home equity portfolio rose only slightly over the first two months of this year, and early-stage cases declined, helping to lift shares of the online broker 11 percent.

E*Trade, whose banking business has hampered otherwise steady trading activity, also reported a $1.2 billion in net new assets in February, up from $1 billion last year.

The company’s stock advanced 10 cents to $1.01 on the Nasdaq, its highest point in about three weeks. The stock dipped below $1 for the first time in the last few months, down from more than $26 two years ago.

Delinquent home equity loans — which represent E*Trade’s greatest exposure to loan losses — totaled $753 million in February, up 1 percent from the end of last year. However, the early-stage delinquencies were down 16 percent over the last two months.

"(E)arly stage delinquencies are showing signs of stabilization, particularly in home equity where they’ve declined year-to-date," Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst David Trone said in a research note.

The company had a total of $2.17 billion in delinquent loans last month, up 10 percent since the end of December. It had $24.88 billion in total gross loans receivable, meaning about 8.7 percent of total gross loans were delinquent. (Reuters)