Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.67.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECPG. StockNews.com cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

ECPG stock opened at $34.27 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.71 and its 200-day moving average is $46.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $811.89 million, a P/E ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 1.73. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $31.54 and a twelve month high of $51.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. Equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta bought 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,505.90. This represents a 70.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 32,672 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 317.0% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 9,943 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $695,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 177.0% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 14,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,752,000 after acquiring an additional 104,509 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc, a specialty finance company, provides debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across financial assets worldwide. The company purchases portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables at deep discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery.