Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 19.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,111 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 21,208 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $3,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 345.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 10,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,888 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $52.84 on Wednesday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $53.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.87 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. The firm had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,943,668. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Encore Capital Group 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.