StockNews.com Downgrades Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) to Sell

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities increased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $31.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $742.00 million, a P/E ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 1.73. Encore Capital Group has a 12-month low of $29.87 and a 12-month high of $51.77. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.50.

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

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

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

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.6% during 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. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 30.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 327,637 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.3% in 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the third 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% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the period.

About Encore Capital Group

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.