Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -31.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.54.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 25.27% and a negative net margin of 2.89%.The company had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 55,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,943,668. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock valued at $264,620. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ECPG. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,957,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 345.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000.

About Encore Capital Group

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.