Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ECPG has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG stock opened at $90.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.69. Encore Capital Group has a 12-month low of $35.67 and a 12-month high of $94.60.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 30.70% and a net margin of 16.00%.The company’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In other news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.08, for a total transaction of $164,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,299,905.60. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $143,000.

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.