Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives $75.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.50.

ECPG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $66.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.44. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $74.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.35.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $1.17. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($9.42) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% in the fourth 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 period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying 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.