Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Finance industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc.

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 discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery. It is also involved in the provision of debt servicing, such as early stage collection, business process outsourcing, and contingent collection services. In addition, the company engages in debt servicing and other portfolio management services to credit originator for non-performing loans. Further, it offers credit management services. Encore Capital Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Nelnet, Inc. engages in loan servicing, education technology services, and payment businesses worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Loan Servicing and Systems, Education Technology Services and Payments, Asset Generation and Management, and Nelnet Bank. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services. This segment also offers student loan servicing software; and business process outsourcing services primarily in contact center management, such as inbound calls, outreach campaigns and sales, and interacting with customers through multi-channels, and processing and administrative services. The Education Technology Services and Payments segment provides financial management services; school information system software; a donation platform; education technology solutions; and customized professional development and coaching, and advanced learning and educational instruction services. This segment also offers tuition payment plans, and service and technology for student billings, payments, and refunds; solutions for in-person, online, and mobile payment experiences on campus; payment processing services, such as credit card and electronic transfer; learning management system; an integrated commerce payment platform; and a school management platform that provides administrative, information and financial management, and communication functions for K-12 schools. The Asset Generation and Management segment invest, allocates an manages loan assts. The Nelnet Bank segment operates as an internet industrial bank. It also offers investment advisory, investment, and reinsurance services, as well as engages in the real estate investment; and solar engineering, procurement, and construction businesses. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Latest Consumer Finance and Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Encore Capital Group, Inc. had a $2.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Finance median of $1.2 million. Encore Capital Group, Inc.’s stock is up 73.1% in 2026, up 4.4% in the previous five trading days and up 154.48% in the past year.

Currently, Encore Capital Group, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 7.3. Encore Capital Group, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.9 billion with a 16.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.997 per share for the current fiscal year. Encore Capital Group, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of July 31, 2026, Nelnet, Inc. had a $4.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 67th percentile of all stocks. Nelnet, Inc.’s stock is up 2.2% in 2026, up 1.9% in the previous five trading days and up 8.95% in the past year.

Currently, Nelnet, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.8. Nelnet, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.6 billion with a 25.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -7.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.180 per share for the current fiscal year. Nelnet, Inc. currently has a 1.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Encore Capital Group, Inc.	ECPG	C
Nelnet, Inc.	NNI	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Nelnet, Inc. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Nelnet, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Nelnet, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Encore Capital Group, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Nelnet, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Encore Capital Group, Inc.	ECPG	B
Nelnet, Inc.	NNI	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong. Nelnet, Inc. has a Quality Score of 70, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Encore Capital Group, Inc.	ECPG	A
Nelnet, Inc.	NNI	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Encore Capital Group, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 92, which is Very Strong. Nelnet, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 42, which is Average.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Encore Capital Group, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Encore Capital Group, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Nelnet, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Encore Capital Group, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Growth and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Encore Capital Group, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 56, Momentum Score of 92 and Quality Score of 79.

Nelnet, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 95, Momentum Score of 42 and Quality Score of 70.

Comparing Encore Capital Group, Inc., Nelnet and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.