Short Interest in Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Grows By 40.9%

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 40.9% from the February 28th total of 950,700 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,169,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas P. Majewski bought 1,087 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $25,001.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,001. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Point Credit

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECC. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 222,083 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 46,006 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,000. Balboa Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Eagle Point Credit in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $839,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 619,399 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $5,500,000 after acquiring an additional 65,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Eagle Point Credit during the fourth quarter worth $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.50% of the company’s stock.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ECC traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.04. 608,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,018,634. Eagle Point Credit has a 1-year low of $7.36 and a 1-year high of $10.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $618.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.73.

Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The investment management company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Eagle Point Credit had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 44.67%. The company had revenue of $49.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.76 million. Research analysts expect that Eagle Point Credit will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Eagle Point Credit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s payout ratio is 200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

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.