Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.25.

Several analysts have recently commented on ECPG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 represents a 13.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter worth $88,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $79.93 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $78.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.25. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $35.67 and a twelve month high of $92.64.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 30.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

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.