Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 448,904 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 830,740 shares.The stock last traded at $9.68 and had previously closed at $9.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Eagle Point Credit from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.86 and its 200 day moving average is $10.01. The stock has a market cap of $746.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The investment management company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.08). Eagle Point Credit had a return on equity of 12.87% and a net margin of 76.61%. The company had revenue of $42.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.67 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 90.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Eagle Point Credit by 95.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 147,447 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 72,067 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Eagle Point Credit during the fourth quarter worth $1,192,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in Eagle Point Credit by 26.2% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 438,276 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,405,000 after acquiring an additional 91,058 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Eagle Point Credit by 359.7% in the third quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 65,647 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 51,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eagle Point Credit by 44.0% in the third quarter. Oxinas Partners Wealth Management LLC now owns 177,492 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 54,240 shares during the period. 19.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eagle Point Credit

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.