Analyzing Silvercrest Asset Management Group (NASDAQ:SAMG) & Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC)

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) and Silvercrest Asset Management Group (NASDAQ:SAMG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eagle Point Credit and Silvercrest Asset Management Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Point Credit	$179.77 million	2.84	$85.49 million	$0.19	21.29
Silvercrest Asset Management Group	$123.65 million	1.50	$9.53 million	$0.71	21.41

Eagle Point Credit has higher revenue and earnings than Silvercrest Asset Management Group. Eagle Point Credit is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Silvercrest Asset Management Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Point Credit and Silvercrest Asset Management Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Point Credit	12.33%	13.47%	8.14%
Silvercrest Asset Management Group	5.28%	11.56%	7.47%

Volatility & Risk

Eagle Point Credit has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silvercrest Asset Management Group has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Point Credit and Silvercrest Asset Management Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Point Credit	0	2	3	1	2.83
Silvercrest Asset Management Group	0	2	0	0	2.00

Eagle Point Credit presently has a consensus price target of $7.13, suggesting a potential upside of 76.10%. Given Eagle Point Credit’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Eagle Point Credit is more favorable than Silvercrest Asset Management Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.5% of Eagle Point Credit shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.6% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Eagle Point Credit shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Eagle Point Credit pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 41.5%. Silvercrest Asset Management Group pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Eagle Point Credit pays out 884.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Silvercrest Asset Management Group pays out 118.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Silvercrest Asset Management Group has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Eagle Point Credit beats Silvercrest Asset Management Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. senior secured loans. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. was formed on March 24, 2014 and is domiciled in the United States.

About Silvercrest Asset Management Group

Silvercrest Asset Management Group Inc., a wealth management firm, provides financial advisory and related family office services in the United States. The company serves ultra-high net worth individuals and families, as well as their trusts; endowments; foundations; and other institutional investors. It also manages funds of funds and other investment funds. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in New York, New York.