Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Share Price Crosses Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.89 and traded as low as $3.64. Eagle Point Credit shares last traded at $3.6750, with a volume of 1,661,276 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.50.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Down 0.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $485.87 million, a PE ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 19th. The investment management company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $42.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.79 million. Eagle Point Credit had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 87.16%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 202.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ECC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 201.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,278,195 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,362,000 after purchasing an additional 854,625 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Eagle Point Credit by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 528,356 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after buying an additional 195,503 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Eagle Point Credit by 268.9% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 247,357 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 180,305 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in Eagle Point Credit by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 32,217 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 3,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Eagle Point Credit by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares in the last quarter. 19.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.