Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 30.44% from the company’s previous close.

ECPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 target price on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.75.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG traded down $3.74 on Thursday, hitting $80.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,353. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Encore Capital Group has a 12 month low of $35.67 and a 12 month high of $92.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.86.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $475.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.26 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Encore Capital Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group will post 11.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 7,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $499,849.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 48,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,325,656.80. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 16,634 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $2,361,000 after buying an additional 49,892 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 4.6% during 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 buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,910 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in 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.