Short Interest in Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Increases By 17.9%

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a growth of 17.9% from the March 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,275,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ECC traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.79. 797,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,112,589. The firm has a market cap of $599.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Eagle Point Credit has a 12-month low of $6.54 and a 12-month high of $10.49.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The investment management company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $49.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.76 million. Eagle Point Credit had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 44.67%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eagle Point Credit will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Eagle Point Credit's payout ratio is 200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas P. Majewski purchased 1,087 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,001.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,001. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Point Credit

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 3rd quarter valued at about $149,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Point Credit by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 50,370 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 13,067 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 619,399 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,500,000 after buying an additional 65,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Credit Suisse Group set a $10.00 price objective on Eagle Point Credit in a research report on Monday.

Eagle Point Credit Company Profile

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc is a closed ended fund launched and managed by Eagle Point Credit Management LLC. It invests in fixed income markets of the United States. The fund invests equity and junior debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations consisting primarily of below investment grade U.S.