Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by JMP Securities

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reiterated by JMP Securities in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 37.90% from the stock’s previous close.

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

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

ECPG stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.51. The company had a trading volume of 29,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,556. Encore Capital Group has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $54.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -4.93 and a beta of 1.38.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The asset manager reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. The firm 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%. On average, analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of the 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 owns 42,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,679,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $80,211,000 after purchasing an additional 11,195 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 916,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,534,000 after purchasing an additional 401,324 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 412,098 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,914,000 after purchasing an additional 36,371 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 396,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,955,000 after buying an additional 45,598 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 335,162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,009,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the period.

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.