Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

ECPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 6.6 %

ECPG stock opened at $31.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 1.73. Encore Capital Group has a 52-week low of $29.87 and a 52-week high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. This trade represents a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. This represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,588,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $123,675,000 after purchasing an additional 16,663 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,416,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,667,000 after buying an additional 327,637 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,575,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,752,000 after acquiring an additional 104,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,648 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.