Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Raised to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

ECPG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $87.00 in a report on Thursday, February 24th. Northland Securities raised their price target on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a hold rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $58.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.31. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $38.33 and a twelve month high of $72.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.28.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 23rd. The asset manager reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.39. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 21.73% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm had revenue of $357.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $361.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 6,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $423,703.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 33.3% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 33,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 8,427 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 52.0% during the third quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 37,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 12,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth about $204,000.

About Encore Capital Group (Get Rating)

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.

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