Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 450.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $47.48 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.54. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.64 and a 52 week high of $54.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.71 and a beta of 1.56.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The asset manager reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.10. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 15.43% and a positive return on equity of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $355.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Northland Capmk raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.67.

About Encore Capital Group

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.