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.

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

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of ECPG opened at $49.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.26 and a beta of 1.56. Encore Capital Group has a 1-year low of $39.64 and a 1-year high of $54.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.14.

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). The firm had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 38.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,924,000 after acquiring an additional 17,799 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,390 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 11,276 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 7,973 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 394,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,006,000 after buying an additional 59,624 shares during the last quarter.

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.