Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) had its price target lifted by Northland Securities from $58.00 to $66.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Northland Securities currently has an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ECPG. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $46.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.71. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $39.64 and a twelve month high of $54.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Encore Capital Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total transaction of $65,874.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,849.96. The trade was a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,952,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 32,672 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,752,000 after purchasing an additional 104,509 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 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.