Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ECPG. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Northland Securities lifted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Encore Capital Group stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.92. 204,110 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 186,018. Encore Capital Group has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $51.77. The company has a market cap of $708.83 million, a PE ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.40 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ashish Masih bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.14 per share, with a total value of $702,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 322,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,324,005.56. This trade represents a 6.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,505.90. This trade 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 Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,588,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $123,675,000 after acquiring an additional 16,663 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,416,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,667,000 after purchasing an additional 327,637 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,575,000 after buying an additional 2,597 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,952,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 512,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,460,000 after buying an additional 30,545 shares during the period.

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.