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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) 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. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective 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 dropped their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $49.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average of $46.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group has a one year low of $39.64 and a one year high of $54.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $65,874.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 450.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000.

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.