Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.1250.

ECC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 target price on Eagle Point Credit in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECC. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in Eagle Point Credit by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 12,545 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 21.2% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 19,220 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. 19.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Down 5.4%

Eagle Point Credit stock opened at $3.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.88. The company has a market cap of $499.64 million, a PE ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 0.32. Eagle Point Credit has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $8.35.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.2%. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 884.21%.

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.