Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Earns "Sell (D-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Encore Capital Group received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while Zacks Research upgraded it from "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating.
• The company's quarterly earnings reported $2.49 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.44, with revenues rising by 24.4% year-over-year.
• Encore Capital Group's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $44.79 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average is $39.30. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $51.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -11.98 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $1.05. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The company had revenue of $442.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Encore Capital Group's quarterly revenue was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,056 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the first quarter worth $686,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,967 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,144,464 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 38.6% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 196,004 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,719,000 after purchasing an additional 54,568 shares during the period.

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.

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