Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Sells $75,120.17 in Stock

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) Director Laura Olle sold 1,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $75,120.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,848,916.96. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Encore Capital Group Price Performance

ECPG stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.06. The company had a trading volume of 329,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,111. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.99 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 1 year low of $26.45 and a 1 year high of $53.78.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $1.25. Encore Capital Group had a negative net margin of 2.89% and a positive return on equity of 25.27%. The firm had revenue of $460.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECPG shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lifted their price target on 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 note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.67.

Institutional Trading of Encore Capital Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Encore Capital Group by 345.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 168.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 83.4% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter.

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.