Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the four research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.33.

ECPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Northland Securities upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Capmk raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ECPG opened at $48.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 1.56. Encore Capital Group has a 1 year low of $39.64 and a 1 year high of $54.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. Encore Capital Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 450.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

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.