Insider Buying: Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) Portfolio Manager Acquires 57,165 Shares of Stock

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Portfolio Manager Daniel Ko acquired 57,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.50 per share, for a total transaction of $200,077.50. Following the purchase, the portfolio manager directly owned 82,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,327.50. This trade represents a 224.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Eagle Point Credit Price Performance

Shares of ECC stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3.51. 1,529,430 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,261. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.77. The company has a market cap of $442.79 million, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.32. Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.48 and a 12-month high of $8.35.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 20.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s dividend payout ratio is presently 884.21%.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Point Credit

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eagle Point Credit during the third quarter valued at $33,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Eagle Point Credit by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Eagle Point Credit during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 135.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,600 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3,222 shares in the last quarter. 19.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Eagle Point Credit from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $7.00 to $4.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $5.00 target price on shares of Eagle Point Credit in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

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.