Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $101.80 and last traded at $99.63, with a volume of 377372 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $100.20.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ECPG. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $105.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encore Capital Group news, insider John Yung sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 64,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,299,905.60. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 97.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 33,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 16,634 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 263.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 68,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 49,892 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 78,465 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 5,672 shares during the period.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.87, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.27.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $491.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.10 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 29.83% and a net margin of 15.86%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.