Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.6667.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $54.35 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.63 and its 200 day moving average is $43.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.70 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Encore Capital Group has a 52-week low of $26.45 and a 52-week high of $56.67.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The business had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,943,668. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620 over the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,957,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 345.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the second quarter valued at $27,000.

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.