Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives $62.67 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.6667.

ECPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,056 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 6,040 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,144,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 117,967 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,019 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $43.25 on Tuesday. Encore Capital Group has a 1 year low of $26.45 and a 1 year high of $51.77. The company has a market cap of $995.27 million, a PE ratio of -11.56 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.02 and its 200 day moving average is $40.04.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $2.49 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $383.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current 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.