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

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.33.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Northland Securities upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Encore Capital Group from $70.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 1.1 %

ECPG opened at $48.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $39.64 and a 12 month high of $54.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.87.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The firm had revenue of $367.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,828 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,365 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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.