Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives $75.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.50.

ECPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $75.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $28.46 and a twelve month high of $79.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.26.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The firm had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($9.42) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this hyperlink. 2.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during 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.