Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.6667.

ECC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 price objective on Eagle Point Credit in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Eagle Point Credit from $7.00 to $4.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

Shares of ECC opened at $4.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.87. Eagle Point Credit has a one year low of $3.46 and a one year high of $7.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $533.47 million, a P/E ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.35.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The investment management company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Eagle Point Credit had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 12.33%.The firm had revenue of $42.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.79 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Eagle Point Credit will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 149.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Portfolio Manager Daniel W. Ko acquired 57,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.50 per share, with a total value of $200,077.50. Following the acquisition, the portfolio manager directly owned 82,665 shares in the company, valued at $289,327.50. This represents a 224.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 135.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,600 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,222 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.50% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Point Credit Company Profile

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.