Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) Announces $0.06 Monthly Dividend

Eagle Point Credit Company Inc. (NYSE:ECC) declared a monthly dividend on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of 0.06 per share by the investment management company on Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th.

Eagle Point Credit has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Eagle Point Credit has a payout ratio of 178.7% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Eagle Point Credit to earn $1.10 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 152.7%.

Eagle Point Credit Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NYSE:ECC traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.17. The stock had a trading volume of 9,378,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,464,948. The company has a market capitalization of $526.80 million, a PE ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.55 and its 200 day moving average is $6.20. Eagle Point Credit has a 12 month low of $3.95 and a 12 month high of $8.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ECC. Credit Suisse Group set a $7.00 price objective on Eagle Point Credit in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eagle Point Credit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Eagle Point Credit from $10.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.46.

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.