Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $81.77 and last traded at $82.1380, with a volume of 348962 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECPG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.26.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $1.17. The firm had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($9.42) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,325,656.80. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.