Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund (PAI) Competitors

Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund (NYSE:PAI) and Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and media sentiment.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of PAI or ECC?

19.0% of Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.5% of Eagle Point Credit shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Eagle Point Credit shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor PAI or ECC?

In the previous week, Eagle Point Credit had 19 more articles in the media than Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Eagle Point Credit and 0 mentions for Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund. Eagle Point Credit's average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund's score of 0.00 indicating that Eagle Point Credit is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund	Neutral
Eagle Point Credit	Positive

Is PAI or ECC a better dividend stock?

Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Eagle Point Credit pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 25.1%. Eagle Point Credit pays out 1,527.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has more volatility & risk, PAI or ECC?

Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Point Credit has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, PAI or ECC?

Eagle Point Credit has higher revenue and earnings than Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund	$4.03M	30.00	N/A	N/A	N/A
Eagle Point Credit	$179.77M	2.87	$85.49M	$0.11	60.91

Is PAI or ECC more profitable?

Eagle Point Credit has a net margin of 6.73% compared to Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund's net margin of 0.00%. Eagle Point Credit's return on equity of 13.49% beat Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
Eagle Point Credit	6.73%	13.49%	8.59%

Do analysts rate PAI or ECC?

Eagle Point Credit has a consensus price target of $8.67, suggesting a potential upside of 29.35%. Given Eagle Point Credit's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Eagle Point Credit is more favorable than Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Eagle Point Credit	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Eagle Point Credit beats Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.