Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by JMP Securities

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $60.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price points to a potential upside of 39.63% from the company’s current price.

Separately, TheStreet lowered Encore Capital Group from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $42.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.89 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.45. Encore Capital Group has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $54.73.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The asset manager reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $277.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.77 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 16.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.46%. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $275,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth approximately $639,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 7.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 93,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,461,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,679,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $80,211,000 after buying an additional 11,195 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 232,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,101,000 after buying an additional 13,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,653 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 610 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.