Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,048 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 89,573 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.94% of Encore Capital Group worth $10,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 221.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,127 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 89,596 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 394,786 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $18,006,000 after acquiring an additional 59,624 shares in the last quarter. Ogborne Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 80,170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 30,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 38.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,114 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,799 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECPG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities raised Encore Capital Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Encore Capital Group stock traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.22. The company had a trading volume of 115,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,565. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.64 and a 1 year high of $54.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.76 and a 200 day moving average of $45.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.56.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $360.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.