Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.81 and last traded at $56.8050, with a volume of 34617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.50.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.21 and a beta of 1.45.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Encore Capital Group’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,606,000 after purchasing an additional 59,421 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 583,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,577,000 after acquiring an additional 14,353 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 17.7% during the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 350,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $14,644,000 after purchasing an additional 52,700 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 332,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,887,000 after buying an additional 33,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,450,000 after purchasing an additional 38,908 shares in 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.