Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Given New $66.00 Price Target at Northland Securities

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Northland Securities from $58.00 to $66.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Northland Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 40.94% from the company’s current price.

ECPG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Northland Capmk raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Encore Capital Group from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Encore Capital Group stock opened at $46.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -5.97 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.71. Encore Capital Group has a 52 week low of $39.64 and a 52 week high of $54.55.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.22). Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 13.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $367.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Encore Capital Group will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Encore Capital Group

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.16, for a total value of $65,874.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,849.96. This represents a 3.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECPG. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,952,000 after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 197,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 191.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,719 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 32,672 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Encore Capital Group by 16.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 756,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,752,000 after acquiring an additional 104,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 900,677 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $42,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares in the last quarter.

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.