Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ECPG. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.25.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.4%

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $81.85 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.33. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $35.67 and a 12 month high of $92.64.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $475.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the 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 approximately $3,325,656.80. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the 2nd 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 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.