Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives $65.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the four research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ECPG. JMP Securities upped 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities lifted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encore Capital Group news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $65,874.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. The trade was a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the 3rd 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 period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $156,000.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

ECPG stock opened at $50.13 on Friday. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $39.64 and a 52 week high of $54.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.88.

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 analyst estimates of $360.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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, 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.