Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 target price on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 2.6%

ECPG stock opened at $80.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.58. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.69 and a fifty-two week high of $81.77.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. The firm had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($9.42) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total value of $499,849.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,419,000 after purchasing an additional 180,733 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,453,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,377,000 after purchasing an additional 127,920 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 379.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 98,817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after purchasing an additional 78,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 476.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 92,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 76,852 shares in the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company that focuses on the purchase and management of nonperforming consumer receivables. Through its subsidiaries, the company acquires charged-off debt portfolios from credit card issuers, banks, and other financial institutions, and seeks to recover outstanding balances through a combination of customer outreach, payment arrangements, and, where appropriate, legal collection efforts. Encore’s business model emphasizes compliance with regulatory and industry standards to ensure ethical and transparent debt-recovery practices.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Encore operates across North America and Europe.