Mill City Ventures III (NASDAQ:MCVT) & Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Head-To-Head Comparison

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) and Mill City Ventures III (NASDAQ:MCVT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Encore Capital Group and Mill City Ventures III’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Encore Capital Group	0.28%	0.67%	0.17%
Mill City Ventures III	-39.37%	-6.67%	-6.13%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Encore Capital Group and Mill City Ventures III’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Encore Capital Group	$1.18 billion	0.94	$194.56 million	($0.06)	-788.83
Mill City Ventures III	$4.20 million	4.66	$110,000.00	N/A	N/A

Encore Capital Group has higher revenue and earnings than Mill City Ventures III.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

5.1% of Mill City Ventures III shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Encore Capital Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of Mill City Ventures III shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Encore Capital Group and Mill City Ventures III, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Encore Capital Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
Mill City Ventures III	0	0	0	0	N/A

Encore Capital Group presently has a consensus target price of $59.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.71%. Given Encore Capital Group’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Encore Capital Group is more favorable than Mill City Ventures III.

Summary

Encore Capital Group beats Mill City Ventures III on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It is also involved in the provision of early stage collection, business process outsourcing, and contingent collection services, as well as debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originator for non-performing loans. Encore Capital Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Mill City Ventures III

Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. is a principal investment firm specializing investments in debt and equity securities of public and private companies to fund their operations whether its start-up, acquisition, or growth. It primarily focuses on investing in, lending to, and making managerial assistance available to privately held and publicly traded companies. The firm also advises its portfolio companies with regard to finance and operations. It was formerly known as Poker Magic, Inc. Mill City Ventures III, Ltd. was founded in January, 2006 and is based in Wayzata, Minnesota.