Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Shares Pass Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.81 and traded as high as $3.88. Eagle Point Credit shares last traded at $3.8350, with a volume of 781,636 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.10. The firm has a market cap of $513.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.36.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). Eagle Point Credit had a negative net margin of 87.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $42.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.79 million. On average, analysts expect that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.5%. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is currently 202.99%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Point Credit

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 854,625 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 839,463 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,835,000 after purchasing an additional 22,499 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 2.2% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 575,559 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 12,253 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 528,356 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 195,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 167.6% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 460,318 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 288,314 shares in the last quarter. 19.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.