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

Shares of Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the four analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.67.

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

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of Encore Capital Group stock opened at $34.79 on Monday. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $31.54 and a twelve month high of $51.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $824.21 million, a P/E ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.73. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.37.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its 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). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth about $222,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 84,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 177.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 14,409 shares during 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.