Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $92.93 and last traded at $92.9120, with a volume of 243325 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECPG. Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.00.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 30.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,419,000 after acquiring an additional 180,733 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 388,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 658.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 334,018 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $23,421,000 after purchasing an additional 289,964 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 204,970 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,555,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during 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.