Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Share Price Passes Above 50-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Eagle Point Credit shares rose above their 50-day moving average, reaching $3.92 and closing near $3.91, compared with a 50-day average of $3.78.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Zacks upgraded the stock to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $6.50.
• The company declared a monthly $0.06 dividend, implying an annualized yield of about 18.4%, although its payout ratio is high at 209.84%; its latest quarterly EPS and revenue both fell short of estimates.

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.78 and traded as high as $3.92. Eagle Point Credit shares last traded at $3.91, with a volume of 1,341,520 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $6.50.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $3.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.36.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The investment management company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Eagle Point Credit had a negative return on equity of 1.83% and a negative net margin of 84.29%.The business had revenue of $37.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.62 million. On average, analysts forecast that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 18.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Eagle Point Credit's payout ratio is currently 209.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECC. TCTC Holdings LLC increased 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 80.8% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 3,001 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Shapiro LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Shapiro LLC now owns 32,624 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position 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 worth $111,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 135.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,600 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3,222 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.

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