Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $112.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $124.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $111.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.50. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $47.49 and a 52 week high of $126.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.87.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $5.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $2.22. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 34.07% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $544.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 40.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 386 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Encore Capital Group by 12.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 185.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 26.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) is a specialty finance company that purchases portfolios of charged-off consumer debt and works to recover amounts owed. Its activities include managing repayment arrangements and providing customer support through its own operations and service providers.

The company operates through businesses including Midland Credit Management in the United States and Cabot Credit Management in the United Kingdom and other European markets. Its operations also include customer-service and support functions in India.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore focuses on consumer receivables and related recovery services.