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

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) insider Ryan Bell sold 260 shares of Encore Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.62, for a total value of $17,841.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 47,910 shares in the company, valued at $3,287,584.20. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Encore Capital Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ECPG traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.75. The stock had a trading volume of 405,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,280. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.35. Encore Capital Group Inc has a twelve month low of $26.45 and a twelve month high of $74.58.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The company had revenue of $473.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $423.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($9.42) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,825 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,632,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 70,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,957,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Encore Capital Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Encore Capital Group by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott increased their price objective on Encore Capital Group from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

About Encore Capital Group

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.