Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,675 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,695 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Encore Capital Group worth $1,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,317 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,043,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,535 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 319,210 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,249,000 after purchasing an additional 16,180 shares during the period. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth $208,000.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of ECPG traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.41. The stock had a trading volume of 160,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $896.84 million, a P/E ratio of -4.89 and a beta of 1.61. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.77. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.69. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The company had revenue of $392.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.49 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ECPG. Wall Street Zen raised Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group 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.