Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives $66.00 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a 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 $66.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on ECPG. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.6%

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $58.41 on Friday. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $59.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.92 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 35,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,848,916.96. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,943,668. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Encore Capital Group

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.