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

Encore Capital Group Inc (NASDAQ:ECPG) insider Ryan Bell sold 260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.62, for a total transaction of $17,841.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 47,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,287,584.20. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Encore Capital Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ECPG opened at $72.68 on Friday. Encore Capital Group Inc has a 12-month low of $26.45 and a 12-month high of $74.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.99 and a 200-day moving average of $50.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.35.

Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The asset manager reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $1.17. The business had revenue of $473.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $423.14 million. Encore Capital Group had a return on equity of 28.19% and a net margin of 14.52%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($9.42) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Encore Capital Group Inc will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Encore Capital Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Encore Capital Group by 1,729.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 494 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 185.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Encore Capital Group by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,139 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Encore Capital Group in the third quarter valued at about $88,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encore Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Northland Securities set a $70.00 target price on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Encore Capital Group in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.