Encore Capital Group (ECPG) vs. The Competition Head-To-Head Analysis

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) is one of 120 public companies in the “Consumer Finance” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Encore Capital Group to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.0% of shares of all “Consumer Finance” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Encore Capital Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of shares of all “Consumer Finance” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Encore Capital Group and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Encore Capital Group	15.86%	29.83%	5.58%
Encore Capital Group Competitors	10.06%	-15.63%	2.15%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Encore Capital Group and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Encore Capital Group	0	1	5	0	2.83
Encore Capital Group Competitors	887	3341	5265	274	2.50

Encore Capital Group currently has a consensus target price of $103.25, suggesting a potential upside of 3.01%. As a group, “Consumer Finance” companies have a potential upside of 22.08%. Given Encore Capital Group’s peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Encore Capital Group has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Encore Capital Group and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Encore Capital Group	$1.77 billion	$256.83 million	7.59
Encore Capital Group Competitors	$3.95 billion	$385.17 million	5.90

Encore Capital Group’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Encore Capital Group. Encore Capital Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Encore Capital Group has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Encore Capital Group’s peers have a beta of 1.24, indicating that their average share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Encore Capital Group beats its peers on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

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. It is also involved in the provision of early stage collection, business process outsourcing, and contingent collection services. In addition, the company engages in debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originator for non-performing loans. Further, it offers credit management services. Encore Capital Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.