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

Key Points

• Analysts give Encore Capital a consensus rating of Buy (6 firms) with an average 1‑year price target of $75.50, and several recent upgrades including Citizens JMP to $90, Truist to $80 and Zacks to a "strong-buy."
• Encore posted a sizable earnings beat, reporting $3.37 EPS vs. $2.20 expected and $473.6M revenue vs. $423.1M, with revenue up 78.3% year‑over‑year and analysts projecting about $5.09 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares at an average $69.04 (a 13.07% reduction in his holdings), while the company shows high leverage (debt/equity 4.10), a P/E of 6.49 and a $1.52B market cap.

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 185.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of ECPG stock opened at $71.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.26. Encore Capital Group has a 1 year low of $26.45 and a 1 year high of $74.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.29.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. The firm had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($9.42) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore's business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.

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