Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.59 and last traded at $58.2290, with a volume of 36515 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $55.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total transaction of $75,120.17. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,916.96. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,943,668. This represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,923 shares of company stock valued at $264,620. Insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 412,498 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,419,000 after buying an additional 180,733 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter worth $7,453,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,377,000 after purchasing an additional 127,920 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,248,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,342,000 after buying an additional 104,367 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Encore Capital Group by 379.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 98,817 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after buying an additional 78,217 shares during the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

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.