Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

ECC has been the subject of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 price objective on Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.13.

Eagle Point Credit Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECC opened at $3.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.94 and a 200-day moving average of $5.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.32. Eagle Point Credit has a fifty-two week low of $3.80 and a fifty-two week high of $8.35.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is currently 884.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $7,362,000 after purchasing an additional 854,625 shares during the last quarter. North Ground Capital acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the third quarter valued at $4,186,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,203,000. Finally, Ares Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the 4th quarter worth about $1,795,000. 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.