Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Encore Capital Group Inc has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy", with one sell rating, three buy ratings, and one strong buy rating among five analysts covering the stock.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.49 compared to analysts' estimates of $1.44, contributing to a 24.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Encore Capital Group, with notable raises including UBS AM's 31.6% increase during the fourth quarter.

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.6667.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 72,793 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 17,470 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2,834.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 57.2% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 20,029 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 3,327.4% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,637 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 8,385 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ECPG traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.31. The company had a trading volume of 485,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.36. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $51.77. The company has a market capitalization of $950.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.05 and a beta of 1.48.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $1.05. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The firm had revenue of $442.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $383.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.