Analysts Set Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) Target Price at $62.67

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECPG) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the four analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three 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 analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.67.

Several brokerages have commented on ECPG. Truist Financial cut their target price on Encore Capital Group from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encore Capital Group news, CEO Ashish Masih acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $35.14 per share, for a total transaction of $702,800.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 322,254 shares in the company, valued at $11,324,005.56. The trade was a 6.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashwini Gupta purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $35.10 per share, with a total value of $1,404,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 96,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,401,505.90. The trade was a 70.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 8,700.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 530 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 827.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $33.90 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $803.12 million, a PE ratio of -4.32 and a beta of 1.73. Encore Capital Group has a twelve month low of $31.54 and a twelve month high of $51.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.58.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.05). Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 12.70% and a negative net margin of 13.91%. The company had revenue of $265.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.40 million. Equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

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.