Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ECPG has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upped their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.50.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 1.1%

ECPG stock opened at $56.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $57.81. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.63 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.22 and a 200-day moving average of $44.79.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. The firm had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The company’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In related news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $75,120.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,916.96. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 55,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock valued at $264,620. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 97.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 33,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 16,634 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 263.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 49,892 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 5,672 shares in the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.