Citizens Jmp Increases Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Price Target to $75.00

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp from $59.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price points to a potential upside of 35.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their target price on 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 lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.67.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.3%

ECPG stock opened at $55.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $53.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.83. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.72 and a beta of 1.45. Encore Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.45 and a fifty-two week high of $57.81. 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 (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 2.89% and a positive return on equity of 25.27%. The company had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total transaction of $75,120.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,848,916.96. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,047,550. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 9.1% in the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,342,000 after acquiring an additional 104,367 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 379.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 98,817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after acquiring an additional 78,217 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 476.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 92,978 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 76,852 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 383.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,499 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 52,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 350,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,644,000 after acquiring an additional 52,700 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.