Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Earns Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a $60.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

Separately, TheStreet lowered Encore Capital Group from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $42.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.91. Encore Capital Group has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $54.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The asset manager reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $277.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.77 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 16.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.46%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $275,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,949,208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $98,335,000 after purchasing an additional 27,842 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,679,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $80,211,000 after buying an additional 11,195 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 916,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,534,000 after buying an additional 401,324 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,858 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $23,282,000 after buying an additional 18,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 415,753 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 49,544 shares during the last quarter.

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.