Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The investment management company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Eagle Point Credit had a net margin of 12.33% and a return on equity of 13.47%.

Eagle Point Credit Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ECC opened at $4.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.94. The firm has a market cap of $533.47 million, a PE ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.35. Eagle Point Credit has a 1-year low of $3.46 and a 1-year high of $7.99.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 800.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Portfolio Manager Daniel W. Ko acquired 57,165 shares of Eagle Point Credit stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $200,077.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the portfolio manager owned 82,665 shares in the company, valued at $289,327.50. The trade was a 224.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECC. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 19,220 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Eagle Point Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $1,161,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Eagle Point Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $774,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $389,000. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the fourth quarter worth about $2,616,000. 19.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $7.00 to $4.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 price target on Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three 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 a consensus price target of $6.67.

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.