Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Separately, Truist Financial cut their price target on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ECPG traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $34.55. The stock had a trading volume of 211,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,361. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.52 million, a P/E ratio of -4.40 and a beta of 1.58. Encore Capital Group has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. This represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $3,401,505.90. This trade represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 120.8% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 152.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,333 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000.

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.