Eagle Point IncomeNYSE: EIC

Eagle Point Income Co Inc. (NYSE:EIC ) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call November 14, 2024 11:30 AM ET Company Participants Garrett Edson - ICR Thomas Majewski - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Ko - Senior Principal and Portfolio Manager Lena Umnova - Chief Accounting Officer Conference Call Participants Matthew Howlett - B. Riley Securities Operator Ladies and gentlemen, greetings, and welcome to the Eagle Point Income Company's Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Call.

At our Conservative Income Portfolio service, I specialize in uncovering relatively mispriced/undervalued preferred stocks and bonds that often fly under the radar and that should significantly outperform similar securities. In this article, I present two very undervalued high yielding baby bonds from NewtekOne and the evidence that I have to declare them very undervalued. Additionally, I will present two term preferred stocks from Eagle Point Credit Company, which offer an 8% yield to maturity for an investment that I consider quite safe.

We take a look at the action in preferreds and baby bonds through the first week of October and highlight some of the key themes we are watching. Preferred stocks saw slight declines as Treasury yields rose, but year-to-date returns remain strong, outperforming REITs and BDCs. Lower-priced preferreds offer better capital gain potential and are more attractive due to lower negative convexity compared to higher-priced counterparts.

I am downgrading Eagle Point Income Company Inc. NT 29, trading under EICC, from Buy to Sell due to poor yield comparisons and coverage ratio. EICC's primary investment objective is high current income, investing mainly in junior debt tranches of CLOs, with a secondary focus on capital appreciation. Compared to other 2029 maturing issues, EICC offers the least yield and coverage, with RWTO providing the best yield-to-call and coverage.

Eagle Point Income operates as a closed end management company with a focus on CLO debt investments. EIC focuses on BB-rated CLO debt investments made on a floating rate basis. This floating rate focus helps generate higher earnings with higher interest rates. The dividend distribution is well-covered by net investment income and recurring cash distributions, making EIC a sustainable income investment.

Eagle Point Credit Management manages two CLO-focused CEFs, with Eagle Point Income Company offering a nearly 15% yield. Closed-end funds offer high yields through various strategies, including collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs. EIC invests in lower-rated debt tranches of CLOs, providing high yields and growing dividends, outperforming its larger sister fund, ECC.

We take a look at the action in preferreds and baby bonds through the last week of March and highlight some of the key themes we are watching. Preferreds underperformed this week, primarily due to REITs, but the broader space still had a positive total return over March. New issuance tends to come in at higher yields to existing, providing an attractive opportunity for investors.

Eagle Point Income reported strong Q4 results with net investment income of $5.55M. The company issued new shares, reducing concerns about the asset coverage ratio for the term preferred shares. The 2026 term preferred shares offer a pro forma yield to maturity of approximately 7.5-7.6%, making them an appealing investment.

I invest for income and my investments align with my goals. We look at Oxford Lane Capital's latest quarterly results to determine if it keeps meeting my goals. Eagle Point Income Co Inc is a lower-risk CLO alternative.