Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Shares Pass Below 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.97 and traded as low as $5.65. Eagle Point Credit shares last traded at $5.74, with a volume of 608,637 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECC. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $7.75 price objective for the company. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $7.75 price target on Eagle Point Credit in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $7.75 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eagle Point Credit has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.46.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $725.13 million, a P/E ratio of 30.21 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.97 and a 200-day moving average of $6.73.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 29.3%. Eagle Point Credit’s dividend payout ratio is presently 884.21%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Point Credit

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,306,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Point Credit during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 255,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 16,289 shares during the period. Finally, Freestate Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.50% of the company’s stock.

About Eagle Point Credit

Eagle Point Credit Company is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns primarily through investments in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) and related structured credit instruments. The firm is externally managed by Eagle Point Credit Management, LLC, a specialized credit asset manager focused on the structured credit markets. Eagle Point Credit Company’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ECC.

The company’s investment strategy centers on acquiring both equity and debt tranches of actively managed CLOs alongside opportunistic positions in senior secured loans, high-yield bonds and credit derivatives.