Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

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

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 1.7 %

ECPG opened at $48.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.17 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.10. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $39.64 and a 12 month high of $54.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 450.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 484 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.