ECPG vs PRAA Stock Comparison

Encore Capital and Pra Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ECPG Encore Capital Group Inc
$102.36 +7.5% 1M +143.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
7.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.90B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
9 wins
PRAA Pra Group Inc
$20.04 +3.1% 1M +43.9% 1Y
Market cap
$743.41M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.33B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Finance Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Encore Capital leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Encore Capital 9, Pra 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionECPGPRAALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.14B $743.41M ECPG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.1x -2.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.3x 5.6x PRAA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +29.5% +17.6% ECPG
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.9% -19.9% ECPG
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.7% 1.4% ECPG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 42.4x ECPG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +143.4% +43.9% ECPG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.6%/yr -14.1%/yr ECPG
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 34.4% 59.8% ECPG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 32/100 ECPG

Percentile Scorecard

ECPGPRAA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisECPGPRAA
Valuation 69 #53 of 169 36 #109 of 169
Growth 94 #10 of 159 17 #132 of 159
Profitability 79 #31 of 146 29 #104 of 146
Financial Health 25 #115 of 153 15 #131 of 153
Shareholder Returns 75 #34 of 135 61 #53 of 135
Overall 69 32
  • ECPG ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit
  • PRAA ranked among 174 companies in Lending and Credit

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodECPGPRAASPY
1 month +7.5%+3.1% +0.7%
3 months +8.8%+15.5% +3.7%
6 months +23.7%-8.0% +7.1%
Year to date +88.3%+13.3% +12.8%
1 year +143.4%+43.9% +11.9%
3 years +168.7%+62.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +39.0%+17.7% +22.8%
5 years +89.5%-53.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year +13.6%-14.1% +10.9%
10 years +418.3%-37.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +17.9%-4.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureECPGPRAASPY
Volatility, 1Y 34.4%59.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 30.8%61.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.810.91 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 4.160.73 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -62.5%-79.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.1%-9.9% -1.2%
52-week high $105.60$22.23 $779.14
52-week low $40.90$10.42 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleECPGPRAA
P/E now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 11.7x -2.9xmedian 11.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 2.7x 0.6xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 13.1x 51.3xmedian 13.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 6.5x -19.9xmedian 6.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 0.7x 0.7xmedian 0.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.02median 0.33 0.02median 0.33

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsECPGPRAA
Revenue $1.90B $1.33B
Operating income $717.47M $66.58M
Net income $301.56M -$260.46M
Free cash flow $125.14M -$37.85M
EPS (diluted) $13.23 $-6.92
Cash & equivalents $182.93M $132.43M
Total debt $4.18B $3.76B
Shares (diluted) 22.79M 38.30M
Enterprise value $1.40B $274.34M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricECPGPRAA
P/E 7.3x -2.9x
P/FCF 17.3x -19.9x
P/Operating cash flow 14.3x -24.0x
P/S 1.1x 0.6x
P/B 2.0x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 8.3x 51.3x
EV/EBIT 8.6x 65.8x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 3.3x
EV/FCF 49.3x -115.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 40.8x -139.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.02 0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricECPGPRAA
Revenue growth (1Y) 29.5% 17.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 17.3% 16.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 184.7% -80.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 44.8% -22.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 438.3% -344.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 350.1% -141.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 450.0% -397.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 359.7% -131.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.8% 45.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.7% -21.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 30.1% 38.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.7% -17.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricECPGPRAA
Gross margin – –
EBITDA margin 39.2% 6.4%
Operating margin 37.7% 5.0%
Pretax margin 20.6% -14.2%
Net margin 15.9% -19.9%
FCF margin 6.6% -2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 8.0% -2.4%
Return on equity 28.5% -23.3%
Return on assets 5.5% -4.9%
Return on invested capital 10.7% 1.4%
Return on capital employed – –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricECPGPRAA
Debt / assets 75.1% 71.8%
Debt / equity 3.9x 3.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.4x 42.4x
Debt / FCF 33.4x -99.3x
Liabilities / assets 80.6% 78.8%
Equity / assets 19.4% 21.2%
Interest coverage 2.4x 0.3x
Current ratio – –
Quick ratio – –
Cash ratio – –
Altman Z-score – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricECPGPRAA
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 5.2% 4.0%
Shareholder yield 5.2% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusECPGPRAA
Forward P/E 7.3xFY2026 5.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.11FY2026 $3.55FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.3%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.84BFY2026 $1.33BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.1% -12.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersECPGPRAA
Held by institutions 100.0% 93.6%
Institutions holding 283 199
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.8% -5.2%
Institutions buying 159 100
Institutions selling 91 71
Buyers to sellers 1.75 1.41

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ECPGPRAA
ECPG 1.00 0.60
PRAA 0.60 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ECPG and PRAA?

Encore Capital (ECPG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Encore Capital (ECPG) $2.14B, Pra (PRAA) $743.41M.

Which company is growing faster?

Encore Capital (ECPG) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Encore Capital (ECPG) +29.5%, Pra (PRAA) +17.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Encore Capital (ECPG) has the highest net margin (Encore Capital (ECPG) 15.9%, Pra (PRAA) -19.9%). On return on invested capital, Encore Capital (ECPG) leads (Encore Capital (ECPG) 10.7%, Pra (PRAA) 1.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Encore Capital (ECPG) returned the most: Encore Capital (ECPG) +143.4%, Pra (PRAA) +43.9%. Over five years, Encore Capital (ECPG) compounded fastest (Encore Capital (ECPG) +13.6%/yr, Pra (PRAA) -14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Encore Capital (ECPG) has been the steadiest (Encore Capital (ECPG) 34.4%, Pra (PRAA) 59.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ECPG and PRAA move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.60, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ECPG and PRAA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Encore Capital (ECPG) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.