StockNews.com Downgrades Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities raised Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on 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. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $49.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.16. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $39.64 and a twelve month high of $54.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.26 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 32,672 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,752,000 after acquiring an additional 104,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares during the period.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.