PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 5,468 Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc $ECPG

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) by 19.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,468 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Encore Capital Group were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,118,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,342,000 after acquiring an additional 104,367 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,095,000 after acquiring an additional 91,019 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 196,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,719,000 after purchasing an additional 54,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 263.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 49,892 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $49.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.30. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $51.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of -13.18 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. The company had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 6.07% and a positive return on equity of 19.61%. Encore Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECPG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

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.