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

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) was the target of 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. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,169,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley cut 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas P. Majewski acquired 1,087 shares of Eagle Point Credit stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $25,001.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,087 shares in the company, valued at $25,001. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eagle Point Credit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECC. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Eagle Point Credit by 20,306.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 847,871 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 843,716 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eagle Point Credit by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 619,399 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,500,000 after purchasing an additional 65,893 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Eagle Point Credit by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 567,610 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $5,040,000 after purchasing an additional 82,367 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Eagle Point Credit by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 246,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after purchasing an additional 80,616 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Eagle Point Credit during the 4th quarter valued at $2,038,000. 19.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eagle Point Credit Trading Up 1.2 %

ECC traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 824,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,020,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $630.59 million, a P/E ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.73. Eagle Point Credit has a twelve month low of $7.36 and a twelve month high of $10.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Eagle Point Credit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Eagle Point Credit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

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.