Encore Capital Group’s (ECPG) “Market Outperform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 44.93% from the company’s previous close.

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

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of ECPG stock traded up $0.86 on Wednesday, hitting $41.40. 127,757 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,174. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $54.73. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average of $47.03. The stock has a market cap of $974.97 million, a P/E ratio of -4.74 and a beta of 1.36.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 5,500 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $275,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 916,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,534,000 after purchasing an additional 401,324 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,468,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 200.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 280,909 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,256,000 after buying an additional 187,495 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 84.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 385,572 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,187,000 after buying an additional 177,084 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,457,000.

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.