Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Short Interest Up 27.7% in May

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,320,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the April 30th total of 2,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,473,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $9.00 to $7.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Credit Suisse Group set a $7.50 price target on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Thursday, May 29th.

Insider Activity at Eagle Point Credit

In related news, CEO Thomas P. Majewski bought 1,087 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $25,001.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the first quarter worth $25,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Eagle Point Credit in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 91.2% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,592 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,713 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 19.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eagle Point Credit Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE ECC traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $7.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,466,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,972. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.40. Eagle Point Credit has a 12-month low of $6.54 and a 12-month high of $10.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.46.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The investment management company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $52.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.54 million. Eagle Point Credit had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 44.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Point Credit will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 21.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Eagle Point Credit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -420.00%.

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.