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

by · The Markets Daily

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on ECPG. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECPG

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ECPG 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. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $74.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.35.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($9.42) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake 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. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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