Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.17 and last traded at $53.7850, with a volume of 158550 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ECPG shares. Janney Montgomery Scott increased their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 1.7%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The company had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,943,668. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $75,120.17. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,916.96. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 345.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth approximately $88,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter.

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.