Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Price Target Raised to $62.00

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) had its price objective increased by Janney Montgomery Scott from $56.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

ECPG stock opened at $47.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. 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 $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.65 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.36.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The company had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,606,000 after acquiring an additional 59,421 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 13.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,019 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 583,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,577,000 after purchasing an additional 14,353 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 17.7% in the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 350,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,644,000 after purchasing an additional 52,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 16.5% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 shares in the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

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.