Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock: Insider Laura Olle Sells 10,493 Shares

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Laura Olle sold 10,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.93, for a total transaction of $1,184,974.49. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,675 shares in the company, valued at $3,012,407.75. The trade was a 28.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG opened at $109.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52-week low of $47.49 and a 52-week high of $126.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 1.29.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The asset manager reported $5.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $2.22. The firm had revenue of $544.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.80 million. Encore Capital Group had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 33.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ECPG. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Encore Capital Group from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Northland Securities set a $124.00 target price on Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Encore Capital Group from $112.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encore Capital Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $128.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 185.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 366 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 40.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 386 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the first quarter worth $46,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Encore Capital Group during the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 26.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter.

About Encore Capital Group

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) is a specialty finance company that purchases portfolios of charged-off consumer debt and works to recover amounts owed. Its activities include managing repayment arrangements and providing customer support through its own operations and service providers. The company operates through businesses including Midland Credit Management in the United States and Cabot Credit Management in the United Kingdom and other European markets. Its operations also include customer-service and support functions in India.