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

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

Encore Capital Group Stock Down 3.2%

ECPG traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.42. The company had a trading volume of 108,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,513. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 52 week low of $26.45 and a 52 week high of $74.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encore Capital Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECPG. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encore Capital Group during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,053 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 102,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,571,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Encore Capital Group by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new position in Encore Capital Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $599,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price objective on Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Encore Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.