Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stake in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 40.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 74,764 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 51,820 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $3,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 7,808 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,653 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 335,162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ECPG. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Monday, May 6th. TheStreet downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.89. The company had a trading volume of 126,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,622. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.08. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $54.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $328.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.83 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 16.30%. Encore Capital Group’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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.