Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a b rating to a c rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Northland Securities downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Monday, February 27th.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 3.2 %

ECPG stock opened at $45.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.46. Encore Capital Group has a 1 year low of $44.06 and a 1 year high of $72.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 1.47.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The asset manager reported ($3.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($4.54). The business had revenue of $233.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.07 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,423 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 33,647 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,944,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 145.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 614 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 552 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 38,130 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period.

About Encore Capital Group

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Encore Capital Group, Inc is an international specialty finance company, which engages in the provision of debt recovery solutions. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Europe, and Other Geographies. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.