Northern Trust Corp Sells 14,569 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Encore Capital Group Inc by 5.1%, now holding approximately 1.17% of the company valued at about $9.33 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of America Corp and Captrust Financial Advisors, have recently increased their positions in Encore Capital Group.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Encore Capital Group from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with a consensus price target set at $62.67.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,294 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 14,569 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.17% of Encore Capital Group worth $9,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 67,268 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 8,213 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,250 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $44.84. The company had a trading volume of 344,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,599. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.99 and a beta of 1.52. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $51.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $1.05. The business had revenue of $442.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $383.42 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Encore Capital Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.67.

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.