Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Encore Capital Group worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 14,278 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 27.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 6.0 %

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.87 and a 1-year high of $51.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.13 and a 200 day moving average of $47.88. The firm has a market cap of $839.85 million, a PE ratio of -4.52 and a beta of 1.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The business had revenue of $265.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ECPG. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

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.