Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

ECPG has been the topic of a number of other reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Northland Capmk raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Northland Securities raised Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Encore Capital Group stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.19. The company had a trading volume of 53,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,757. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The business had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.70 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encore Capital Group

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $65,874.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,849.96. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECPG. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 25,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 73,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,051,000 after purchasing an additional 8,991 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 80,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 30,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at $695,000.

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.