Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ECPG. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Securities raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of ECPG opened at $49.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.26 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.98 and its 200 day moving average is $46.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $39.64 and a fifty-two week high of $54.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The business had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Phase 2 Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 219.9% during the third quarter. Phase 2 Partners LLC now owns 241,509 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,416,000 after acquiring an additional 166,014 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,752,000 after purchasing an additional 104,509 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 221.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 89,596 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 394,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,006,000 after purchasing an additional 59,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ogborne Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,073,000.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group, Inc, a specialty finance company, provides debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across financial assets worldwide. The company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at deep discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery.