Insider Selling: Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Insider Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,943,668. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.13. 381,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,648. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.74 and its 200-day moving average is $41.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.67 and a beta of 1.43. Encore Capital Group Inc has a one year low of $26.45 and a one year high of $52.00.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $1.25. The business had revenue of $460.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.70 million. Encore Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 6.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 13.1% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 6,040 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 790,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,019 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 75,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,574,000 after buying an additional 16,096 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the first quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Encore Capital Group in the first quarter valued at $1,117,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott boosted their price target on shares of Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

Encore Capital Group Company Profile

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 deep discounts to face value, as well as manages them by working with individuals as they repay their obligations and works toward financial recovery.