Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $46.46 and traded as high as $55.38. Encore Capital Group shares last traded at $55.33, with a volume of 77,029 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ECPG. Wall Street Zen cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 price target on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Encore Capital Group from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Encore Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.00.

Encore Capital Group Trading Up 0.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.23 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.46.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The asset manager reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $410.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Encore Capital Group

In related news, insider John Yung sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,609 shares in the company, valued at $2,943,668. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan B. Bell sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 55,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,047,550. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 4,923 shares of company stock worth $264,620 in the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.