Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $3.80 and last traded at $3.8050, with a volume of 3787318 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ECC. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research lowered Eagle Point Credit from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 target price on Eagle Point Credit in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eagle Point Credit presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.13.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.10 million, a PE ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.32.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s dividend payout ratio is currently 884.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Eagle Point Credit in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 2nd quarter valued at $96,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 130,627 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 59,881 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 294,869 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 28,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Eagle Point Credit during the 2nd quarter worth $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.50% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Point Credit Company Profile

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.