Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Short Interest Up 5.1% in October

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the September 30th total of 1,970,000 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 130,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,137,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,782,000 after purchasing an additional 5,373 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 17.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 394,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,006,000 after acquiring an additional 59,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 182,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 221.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,127 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,430,000 after acquiring an additional 89,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 80,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 30,052 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $45.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $54.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -5.50 and a beta of 1.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The asset manager reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $355.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $346.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ECPG shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.67.

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.