Eagle Point Credit (NYSE:ECC) and Silvercrest Asset Management Group (NASDAQ:SAMG) Critical Analysis

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

Risk & Volatility

Silvercrest Asset Management Group has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Point Credit has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.6% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.5% of Eagle Point Credit shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.4% of Silvercrest Asset Management Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Eagle Point Credit shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Silvercrest Asset Management Group and Eagle Point Credit”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Silvercrest Asset Management Group	$123.65 million	1.53	$9.53 million	$0.71	21.83
Eagle Point Credit	$179.77 million	2.81	$85.49 million	$0.19	21.05

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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Silvercrest Asset Management Group and Eagle Point Credit, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Silvercrest Asset Management Group	0	2	0	0	2.00
Eagle Point Credit	0	3	3	0	2.50

Eagle Point Credit has a consensus price target of $7.13, indicating a potential upside of 78.13%. Given Eagle Point Credit’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eagle Point Credit is more favorable than Silvercrest Asset Management Group.

Dividends

Silvercrest Asset Management Group pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Eagle Point Credit pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 42.0%. 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. 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 has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Eagle Point Credit beats Silvercrest Asset Management Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.