Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Insider Ryan Bell Sells 260 Shares

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) insider Ryan Bell sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.62, for a total value of $17,841.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 47,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,287,584.20. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Encore Capital Group Stock Up 2.6%

ECPG stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.75. 405,079 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.02. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1-year low of $26.45 and a 1-year high of $74.58.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 28.19%. The company had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $423.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($9.42) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,308,252 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,606,000 after buying an additional 59,421 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 583,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,577,000 after acquiring an additional 14,353 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $22,419,000 after purchasing an additional 180,733 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 385,830 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,970,000 after purchasing an additional 34,980 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Encore Capital Group by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 371,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,214,000 after purchasing an additional 39,214 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ECPG. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Encore Capital Group from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company 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 research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

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.