Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,177,498 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 1,366,576 shares.The stock last traded at $5.5450 and had previously closed at $5.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group set a $7.00 target price on Eagle Point Credit in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eagle Point Credit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.46.

Eagle Point Credit Trading Down 6.0%

The company has a market cap of $687.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.38.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 30.9%. Eagle Point Credit’s dividend payout ratio is 884.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the 1st quarter worth about $134,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the second quarter worth approximately $191,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in Eagle Point Credit during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Eagle Point Credit by 116.0% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,825 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 22,465 shares in the last quarter. 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.